The 2012 Paris Literary Prize

https://www.parisliteraryprize.org/

The Paris Literary Prize is an international novella competition for unpublished writers. Any topic is welcome.
Shakespeare and Company has a long-standing tradition of opening its doors to aspiring writers and in keeping with that philosophy, the 10,000€ Paris Literary Prize is open to writers from around the world who have not yet published a book.

We have long been admirers of the novella, a genre which includes such classics as The Old Man and the Sea, Animal Farm, L'Étranger and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The Paris Literary Prize celebrates this small but perfectly formed genre while giving a unique opportunity to writers whose voices have not yet been heard.

Awards

There are three Paris Literary Prize awards:

The Paris Literary Prize award: 10,000 Euros
Two Paris Literary Prize Runner-up awards: 2,000 Euros each

All three winners will be invited to a weekend stay in Paris to attend the
Prize ceremony and read from their work at a special event at
Shakespeare and Company.

Last year, the winner of the Paris Literary Prize was Rosa Rankin-Gee for The Last Kings of Sark ; the two runners-up were Adam Biles for Grey Cats, and Agustin Maes forNewborn.

Selection Process & Jury

The selection process for the Paris Literary Prize occurs in two phases. First, our dedicated team of readers (numbering 12 in 2011) goes through each submission in search of exceptional stories, voices and craft and a long list of roughly 10% of entrants is then chosen for closer inspection. After many hours of reading and debate, this is again reduced to form the short list, between 10 and 15 entrants. This is where our Jury takes over, spending a month with the texts before selecting the winner and two runners-up.

To ensure the quality and diversity of the selections, each submission is considered by several readers (for instance, in 2011 each text was viewed at least five times).

The identity of all entrants is withheld throughout the process.

2012 Jury

Erica Wagner will again be chairing the jury for this year’s prize, with the remaining members to be decided shortly. For the list of 2011 readers and jury click here.

Eligibility & Requirements

The Paris Literary Prize will be awarded for a novella, written by a previously unpublished writer. Please carefully read all eligibility terms and conditions before entering.

Eligibility Terms and Conditions to Enter The Paris Literary Prize:

A - GENERAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. Entrants must be individuals and not a company or organization.
2. Entrants must submit their work using their real name.
3. Entrants must be over 18 years of age at the time of submission.
4. The competition is not open to employees of Shakespeare and Company, FestivalandCo, The de Groot Foundation or members of the judging panel. Family members of any of the aforementioned are also not eligible.
5. The 2012 Paris Literary Prize competition is open to unpublished writers only.In the context of the Prize, this means that:
   
   • you are not eligible to submit if you have had any book, fiction or non-fiction, commercially published (under your own name or a pen name);
   • *only exception*: in the cases of poetry or non-fiction (and in these cases only), you can have commercially published a book as long as it was a small print run (total print run of 1,000 copies or less)
   You can enter the Prize if:
   
   • you have never published anything;
   • you have self-published a hard copy book or an e-book;
   • you have published pieces in literary journals or anthologies;
   • you have published your masters or doctoral dissertation;
   • you have published, in print or electronic form, up to 10% (maximum) of the work you intend to submit.
6. Entrants cannot have any publishing contract at the time of submission (unless the work in question falls under any of the above cases).
7. Entrants must pay the entry fee in order to be eligible.
8. Only submissions received and paid for by noon Paris time September 1, 2012 or by the extended deadline of noon on September 15, 2012 will be considered.
9.  Entries that are not paid for, incomplete, are corrupted or submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
10. Long-listed and short-listed entrants will be notified by email when they have made the list.
11. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.
12. No editorial feedback will be provided.
13. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the judging process.
14. The winners must be available on June 15, 2013 for the award ceremony, and on June 16, 2013 for their reading event at Shakespeare and Company.
15. The names of the long-listed and short-listed entrants will be posted on this website after the Paris Literary Prize Award Ceremony June 15, 2013. Since this is a blinded competition, names cannot be publicized prior to June 15, 2013.
16.  Prizes are not transferable. 
17.  Entrants will retain copyright of their work. However, in submitting your work, you give permission to Shakespeare and Company and The de Groot Foundation to publicize and promote your work if appropriate (and use your names, title of work and photographs of you in such publicity).

B - NOVELLA SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. The entry must be the entrant's own original creation and must not infringe upon the right or copyright of any person or entity.
2. A submitted novella must be a sustained narrative with a minimum word count of 17,000 and a maximum of 35,000.
3. The novella is a work of fiction and can be set anywhere in the world and be on any topic.
4. Linked short stories, or works aimed at children or young adults will not be considered.
5. The work must be submitted in English.
6. Translated submissions:
   • If a translated work is submitted you must note that on your novella entry and state which language it was translated from.
   • You may not submit a translated work that has been published in another language.
   • If a translated entry is chosen for a prize, the prize will go to the author and not the translator.
7. Only submissions which meet all Eligibility Terms and Conditions will be considered.
8. By entering this competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Eligibility Terms and Conditions.

Enter the Prize now

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