Louisa May Alcott
The Alcott Award
Book-length YA fiction (with strong female lead character(s)
Deadline extended to September 30, 2019.
Prize: $1,000 and publication by Many Frog Press, an imprint of Hidden River Publishing.
Hidden River announces the inaugural Alcott Award for an unpublished book-length work of Young Adult fiction featuring at least one strong female lead character. The winning manuscript will be published by Many Frog Press, an imprint of Hidden River Publishing, and will receive a prize $1000. The deadline for all manuscript submissions is September 30, 2019. Entry fee: $22 US. This competition is open to international submissions for all writers in English.
The award is named after Louisa May Alcott, who, while often associated with New England, was actually born in Germantown, a neighborhood of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1832. Her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, had established a progressive school which would eventually become The Germantown Academy. But several failed attempts with founding educational centers eventually caused the family to return to New England. The family consistently suffered financial hardship, but were surrounded by intellectuals, including members of the Transcendentalist Movement. Henry David Thoreau was one of Louisa’s first teachers. She also studied with Julia Ward Howe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was no wonder that she was a life-long abolitionist and advocate of women’s rights. Her family’s home served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and she knew and often had discussions with Frederick Douglass. Louisa was the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts. Alcott was the author of many stories and books for children, her most famous book, of course, being Little Women.
The Alcott Award is offered for a YA novel that, in the tradition of Little Women, offers us at least one central female character. Style is open – the book may be any form of fiction (historical, fantasy, literary, etc.) as long as its protagonist is female.
All submissions must include name, address, telephone number, email, website (if you have one), a brief biography, synopsis, outline, and full manuscript in that order. Submissions without the required materials will not be read. Online submissions are through Submittable. Please note that, when submitting online, all materials must be combined into ONE document before uploading. Be sure to upload all required materials, including the synopsis BEFORE the manuscript, which should be uploaded last. To submit online please go to Submittable. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. We ask only that you contact us asap if you place the manuscript for publication elsewhere. We also accept multiple submissions. Each manuscript must be submitted, with all required materials, separately. All awards are decided by Hidden River staff, and decisions are final.
Please be sure to BOOKMARK our blog site for all announcements of semi-finalists, finalists and winners of this competition, and for other announcements of our programs and events.
Please be aware that we consider ALL forms of publication as disqualification. Self-publishing is publication; if your manuscript has an isbn number, or if it is available for sale online and/or in brick and mortar stores, your book is “published”.
Many Frog Press is a new imprint of Hidden River Publishing, which focuses on books for young readers, books on the arts and arts education, and books about alternative educational methods. “Frog” is right — not “frogs”. The imprint was named by my son, who himself has always been an artist and the quintessential alternative learner.
Again, the link for Submittable is: https://hiddenriverartssubmissions.submittable.com/submit/93386/the-alcott-award-for-young-adult-fiction
Hidden River Arts 