2012 Winners
Winner ($10,000):
- Lise Brody, Athol, MA is the winner of the James Jones First Novel Fellowhip with her manuscript titled For One Thing She Did.
Runners-Up ($750):
- Andrea Levin,New York, NY is the runner-up with her manuscript titled Last Days of the Transitional Objects Institute.
- Viet Nguyen, Los Angeles, CA is the runner-up with his manuscript titled The Sympathizer.
Honorable Mention out of 585 submissions
- Victoria Kelley, Virginia Beach, VA, for her manuscript Where People Go When They Disappear.
Judges: Laurie Moyer, James Jones Society Advisory Board; Tina Russ, James Jones Society Advisory Board; and Kaylie Jones, daughter of James Jones and novelist.
The 22nd Annual James Jones First Novel Fellowship
will be awarded to an American author of a first fiction novel-in-progress, in 2013, by the James Jones Literary Society. Novellas and collections of closely linked short stories may also be considered for the competition.
The award is intended to honor the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into modern culture exemplified by the late James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity and other prose narratives of distinction. Jones himself was the recipient of aid from many supporters as a young writer and his family, friends, and admirers have established this award of $10,000 to continue the tradition in his name. Two runner up awards of $750 each will also be given by the Jones Literary Society.
Eligibility: The competition is open to United States citizens who have not previously published a novel. Manuscripts may be submitted for publication simultaneously, but the Society must be notified of acceptance elsewhere. Officers of the James Jones Society are not eligible for the award.
Entry Fee: A $25 check/money order, payable to Wilkes University, NOT to James Jones First Novel Fellowship, must accompany each entry. For online submissions add a $3.00 processing fee.
Manuscript Guidelines: A two-page (maximum) outline of the entire novel and the first 50 pages of the novel-in-progress are to be submitted.
The manuscript must be typed and double-spaced; outline may be single-spaced. Entrants submitting via snail mail should include their name, address, telephone number and e-mail address (if available) on the title page, but nowhere else on the manuscript. For those entrants submitting online, name, address, telephone number and e-mail address should NOT appear anywhere on the manuscript. Pages should be numbered.
If a manuscript is selected for the final round, the author will be asked to send another copy of the originally submitted first 50 pages plus pages 51-100. Submissions will be acknowledged only if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped postcard. No manuscripts will be returned.
Failure to comply with manuscript guidelines may disqualify entries.For a copy of the press release on the winners, please submit a SASE (to the address listed in the next paragraph) marked "Winners 2013 Contest." The press release will be available in late Fall 2013.
Entries can be mailed via SNAILMAIL or our ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM. Hard Copy entries should be sent to the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, c/o M.A./M.F.A. in Creative Writing, Wilkes University, 84 West South Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766, and postmarked no later than March 1, 2013. ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM entries should be sent to jamesjones.submishmash.com/submit. ELECTRONIC ENTRIES should be sent no later than midnight, March 1, 2013.
The winner will be notified in September 2013. The first-prize winner must accept the award at the James Jones Literary Society Conference held each fall, usually in early November. Transportation funding will be provided. An excerpt from the winning manuscript will be published in Provincetown Arts (July 2014.)
Entries for the 2013 contest will be accepted after October 1, 2012.
For more information, please contact us via e-mail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I submitted a manuscript for the 2012 contest. Can I resubmit it for the 2013 contest?
A: Yes, resubmitted manuscripts are accepted.Q: How many manuscripts are received every year?
A: We usually receive close to 600 manuscripts. 558 manuscripts were submitted to the 2012 contest.Q: May I enter more than one manuscript?
A: Yes, multiple entries from the same author are allowed, but each submission must be mailed separately along with a $25.00 entry fee and $28 for each online entry.Q: I plan on making several revisions to my novel-in-progress. If I am selected as a finalist and have to provide pages 1-100, can I submit my revised version?
A: No. Please keep a copy of the original version you submited to the contest (as well as pages 51-100). All of the judges have to read the same version.Q: Does a self-published novel make me ineligible for the fellowship?
A: Yes. We do not accept entires from authors who have self-published.
