How to Submit A Manuscript
Submissions for the next prize cycle are not being accepted at this time. Please revisit this site for updates on Bellwether Prize news.
Eligibility:
In order to be eligible to win the Bellwether Prize,
you must be a United States citizen, and you must not
have previously published a book that sold more than
10,000 copies. Your submission must be an original,
previously unpublished novel, written by one person,
in English, at least 80,000 words in length. You must
have some record of previously published short fiction or nonfiction. Publication
requirements are explained more thoroughly on the application form.
Applications must include the following:
- One copy of your manuscript.
Manuscript must be typed, double-spaced, paginated, with title appearing on every
page (not your name).
- A copy of the official application, signed, with all three pages completed.
- Résumé or curriculum vitae (5 pages maximum).
- $25 processing fee (Check only) payable to NWUSO/Bellwether.
- Self-addressed, stamped postcard for verification of receipt of entry.
- Self-addressed, stamped business envelope for notification of results.
Your entry must be postmarked between the 2011 dates to be announced here for the next prize cycle. (They comprise, approximately, the month of September.) Manuscripts will not be returned.
Terms of the Prize:
Only one manuscript will receive the Bellwether
Prize in a given year. The winner will be notified
directly or through an agent/representative, and the board’s
decisions are final. Author of the winning manuscript will
receive $25,000, and will enter into a publishing contract with
the participating publishing company named on the application form.
The author of the winning manuscript is expected to work with a
publishing editor on final manuscript preparation prior to
publication. The editor has been chosen on the basis of his/her
understanding of the criteria for the Prize. It is an ordinary
and usual requirement for the author of any manuscript to accept
editorial assistance in preparing a manuscript.
