The fifth annual Wolfson Poetry Chapbook Prize is an award for a chapbook-length manuscript (maximum 40 pages, minimum 25 pages) of original poems in English with a required submission fee of $15.00. The winning poet receives $500 in prize money, plus 50 copies. Winning manuscripts are published by Wolfson Press, a nonprofit organization belonging to Indiana University South Bend. Although the contest judge selects only one winner annually, we may offer to publish a small number of select finalists in addition to the prize winner. The contest judge is Nancy Botkin, author (most recently) of The Next Infinity (Broadstone Books 2019) and The Honeycomb (Winner of the Steel Toe Books 2022 Chapbook Award). Previous winners are Steven Ostrowski, Renee Agatep, Triin Paja, and Julia B. Levine. Finalists whose chapbooks we have published include John Surowiecki and Jim Daniels.

Schedule

• The contest opens October 1, 2024.
• The submissions window closes March 17, 2025.
• Results will be announced in July 2025.
• The winning manuscript will be published in 2026.

Eligibility Requirements

• Persons eligible: Authors writing original poems in English, regardless of nationality, residence, or publication history may submit to the competition. 
• Persons not eligible: In keeping with well-established ethical standards, no current or former Wolfson Press staff member, board member, or volunteer may enter the competition. Also ineligible are former or current Indiana University students and employees, friends and family of the director of the press, and friends, family, and former students of the contest judge.
• Young and early-career poets are encouraged to participate in the competition. The contest isn’t designed with any particular type of poet or style of poetry in mind.
• Only previously unpublished collections are eligible, but individual works within the larger manuscript may have been published previously in magazines, journals, and multi-author anthologies.
• Although previous publication of individual poems in anthologies is fine, no poem shall have appeared in an author’s previous (including self-published) book or pamphlet. (Please query if you have doubts: wolfson@iu.edu)

Privacy and Anti-Discrimination Statement

• Wolfson Press will use your contact information to stay in touch with you on matters regarding the competition and its publishing activities. Your information will not be sold or passed on to any other individual, business, entity, or agency.
• Wolfson Press does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.

Wolfson Press is a member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).

The Wolfson Prose Prize is an annual award for a manuscript of fiction or creative nonfiction by an American writer. The prize payment is $500 plus 50 copies. Eligible manuscripts include short novels, novellas, story collections, non-academic essay collections, memoirs, and various kinds of creative nonfiction of 20,000-60,000 words. Quality is the essential factor. An 80-page novella is just as likely to win as a 240-page novel or memoir. We are keenly interested in all creative prose genres and all lengths within the stated page limits. A $25.00 submission fee is required. The winning manuscript will be published by Wolfson Press as part of its American Storytellers Series. Wolfson Press is a non-profit publisher at Indiana University South Bend. 

The contest judge is Kelcey Parker Ervick, author of The Keeper. Her earlier award-winning books are The Bitter Life of Božena Němcová, a biographical collage; Liliane's Balcony, a novella set at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater; and the story collection For Sale by Owner. She co-edited, with Tom Hart, the Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Graphic Literature.

Although the contest judge selects only one annual winner, we hope to publish one or two additional manuscripts among the remaining finalists. The first-annual 2022 winner was Katharine Haake, whose memoir-in-essays will be published in late 2024 or early 2025. Books by finalists Rita Ciresi (novella) and Doug Ramspeck (stories) will also be published.

2024 Schedule
    · The competition opens on September 23, 2024.
    · The deadline for submissions is Sunday, December 31, 2024.
    · Results will be announced in summer 2025.

Manuscript Submission Guidelines
    · Submissions are limited to American authors writing in English. The prize-winning book will become a volume in our American Storytellers series.
    · Required length: 20,000-60,000 words. The guidelines allow for shorter and longer works (for instance, an 80-page novella or a novel or collection of up to approximately 240 pages). What we care about is the quality of the writing.
    · All manuscripts must be submitted online through Submittable.
    · There is a required $25.00 submission fee.
    · Prior publication of individual stories or essays is acceptable as long as a majority of the collection has not been published together in book form. The same is the case for novellas and book-length essays: prior publication of parts or excerpts is permitted. Short essays and stories must not have appeared in a single-author book. A story or essay that has been included in an anthology of work by multiple authors is acceptable. (Feel free to inquire if you are uncertain: wolfson@iu.edu)
    · You may submit more than one manuscript, but each manuscript must be submitted separately and accompanied by a separate contest fee.
    · The manuscript must be original in English (no translations).
    · Please do not submit images or illustrations.

Author Eligibility Requirements
    · Persons eligible: United States nationals writing in English, regardless of publication history, are encouraged to submit to the competition.
    · Additional persons not eligible: In keeping with well-established ethical standards for literary contests, no current or former Wolfson Press staff member, board member, or volunteer may enter the competition. Also ineligible are former or current Indiana University students and employees; friends, students, and family of the director of the press; and friends, family, and students of the contest judge.

Privacy and Anti-Discrimination Statement

• Wolfson Press will use your contact information to stay in touch with you on matters regarding the competition and its publishing activities. Your information will not be sold or passed on to any other individual, business, entity, or agency.
• Wolfson Press does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.

Wolfson Press is a member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).