Submission guidelines
In the interest of discovering new talent, writers and novelists who are without a literary agent may submit a manuscript to our Arts and Letters Publishing Contest. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and illustrated children’s books accepted. Three winners will receive a traditional publishing contract with a $1,500 advance and distribution to major retailers. Twenty-five runners-up will be publicly announced and acknowledged for their outstanding work, with an option for potential publication in the future. The winning submissions will have a scheduled release date in late summer 2025. Please read the submission guidelines before submitting your manuscript to the contest via the form below. Failure to follow the contest guidelines may result in automatic disqualification.
- Entrants must be 18 years of age or older.
- Must reside in the United States (we may consider opening submissions to other territories in the near future).
- Manuscript must be submitted online. Accepted formats: PDF, Microsoft Word (preferred), OpenOffice, Pages, Wordpad or text. We are not accepting printed manuscripts by physical mail.
- Contest entry fee is $125
- Contestant may be previously published. However, previously published books are ineligible for the contest and publication.
- Only one manuscript may be submitted at a time per form and entry fee. Due to the volume of submitted manuscripts, no more than two manuscripts may be submitted during the contest period.
- You may only submit your manuscript once so please confirm it is your most recent version before sending.
- Typewritten manuscripts (manuscripts written using a typewriter) must be properly scanned and sent as a PDF or Microsoft Word format. Pages must not be askew and should be free of conversion errors.
- Manuscript must be between 10,000-150,000 words. There is no minimum number of words for illustrated children’s books.
- We are not interested in publishing material that glamorizes or glorifies extremism, racism, sexism, sexual violence, xenophobia, homophobia, or intolerance of any kind.
- Formatting: Must be single spaced using a 12 point font in Times New Romans (no special fonts, script, handwritten or fancier fonts may be used). Chapter headings required.
- Children’s books may use special fonts and font sizes, as long as the font is readable. Chapter headings are not required for children’s books.
- Serious submissions only. We may not be able to respond to emailed questions due to the volume of emails received. We will announce contest deadlines in the near future. Please complete the form below. After submitting the form you will be taken to the next page to complete the submission. You will also receive an automated email with instructions on how to attach your manuscript. If you do not see the email, check your junk folder.