| Sajha.com Archives | |
| Username | Post |
| sally | Posted
on 22-Apr-03 08:06 AM
OK NK and all you other writers out there ... The deadline is next week (gulp) but apparently they don't have the minimum number of submissions yet. Which is both good news and bad news: bad news cuz the contest won't get ahead if they don't get it, good news cuz, if it DOES go ahead, the chances of getting your work seen are better! Judges include Manil Suri and Salman Rushdie. ## FIRST WORDS LITERARY PRIZE GUIDELINES WHAT IS THE FIRST WORDS LITERARY PRIZE FOR SOUTH ASIAN LITERATURE? The First Words Literary Prize has been established in order to give aspiring writers that write about or are from South Asia, a platform for professional development. Winners of the prize will have an opportunity to meet with literary agents to discuss possibilities of publishing their work. The Prize is being offered in conjunction with the South Asian Literary Festival- to be held in Washington, DC in October 2003. SPONSORS Information on the sponsors for this event will be available online after April 15, 2003 at www.netsap.org/salf SELECTION PROCESS So that each manuscript receives fair and thoughtful consideration, all manuscripts will be submitted to literary prize readers and judges anonymously. A staff of readers will select the final manuscripts for each judges careful consideration. We require that all readers, like our judges, be publishing professionals in the appropriate genres. Because many large publishing houses are now neglecting fine literary works, especially those by new authors, the First Words Prizes is an important venue for the presentation of new literary talent. In addition to choosing winners, the judges are free to select finalists. The First Words Review Committee will work to help place the finalist manuscripts with presses. In the future we hope these manuscripts will be published as a result of these efforts. JUDGES FOR THE YEAR Judges for the First Words Literary Prize are published authors and will be announced May 15, 2003 at www.netsap.org/salf Possible judges include: Jonah Blank, Richard Peabody, Willam Tester, Indira Ganesen, Maniza Naqvi, Meena Alexander, Kirin Nagarkar, Amitava Kumar, Manil Suri, & Salman Rushdie. Please note judges have not been confirmed. A confirmed review committee of judges will be published online later in the year-after May 15, 2003. RULES OF ELIGIBILITY The First Words Literary Prizes require that manuscripts contain at least 30 pages of text for fiction, which includes novels and short-fiction collections and creative nonfiction. The competition welcomes manuscripts from all authors that are South Asian or identify with a South Asian aesthetic or identity, including non-US citizens, writing in English who have not yet published their entry. Scholarly, critical, and historical works will not be considered in the creative nonfiction category, which is defined as factual and literary writing that has the narrative, dramatic, meditative, and lyrical elements of novels, plays, poetry, and memoirs. Manuscripts may contain stories, chapters, and essays that have already been published individually in magazines, anthologies, and periodicals, but the manuscript itself cannot have been published previously as a whole, commercially or privately. Contestants may submit manuscripts elsewhere simultaneously, but must notify contest coordinator immediately if a manuscript has been accepted for publication elsewhere. |
| sally | Posted
on 22-Apr-03 08:07 AM
SOUTH ASIAN ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT Eligible if written by a South Asian or is about South Asia or if the work identifies with a South Asian aesthetic. Authors must reside in the United States of America (or agree to pay his/her own ticket to the U.S. to meet with publisher). GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPTS Please observe the following standards when submitting manuscripts · Typed and double-spaced pages on letter-size (8 1/2 x 11) paper. · Illustrations are not accepted. Handwritten manuscripts will not be accepted. · The manuscript must be paginated and contain a table of contents. · Good-quality photocopied or letter-quality printed manuscripts are acceptable. · Manuscripts should not be bound or in a folder; they must be binder-clipped or rubber-banded together. · Include 2 cover pages: one containing the author's name, address, Phone number, manuscript title, and genre (fiction or creative non-fiction), the other containing only title and genre. · The author's name must not appear on any page of the manuscript. · Do not include an author's note or biographical information. · Do not include a publication acknowledgments page. · Revisions and additions will not be accepted once manuscripts have been received. The above guidelines will help to insure efficient handling of the manuscripts as well as the process of judging them anonymously. In the case of a manuscript not conforming with the above guidelines, the manuscript becomes ineligible for consideration and the entry fee will be returned. REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION Send one copy of each submission. Include: a $10 processing fee for each submission, payable to First Words, a self-addressed postage-paid postcard for confirmation of manuscript receipt. Manuscripts, even if accompanied by an self-addressed postage paid envelope, cannot be returned. Also, an e-mail address must be enclosed in order to receive notification of contest results. (If a contestant does not have access to e-mail, a self-addressed, stamped, business-sized envelope may be enclosed for results.) Winners may be required to submit an affidavit of eligibility and to sign a release agreeing to the use of his/ her name and/or photograph for advertising, publicity, and promotional purposes without compensation (unless prohibited by law). DATES FOR SUBMISSION AND NOTIFICATION Manuscript submissions accepted until May 1, 2003. Manuscripts received with postmarks after May 1 cannot be considered. Winners announced in October, 2003. PLEASE SEND MANUSCRIPTS TO: Afshan Hussain First Words Literary Prize 1831 B 19th St NW Washington, DC. 20009 All correspondence concerning the contest should be made to the above address. No e-mail or phone calls, please. Any correspondence addressed to the judge will be forwarded to the above address unread. Any attempt to sway the judges by writing to them will disqualify the entry. The decisions of the First Words Literary Prize committee as to eligibility are final. The committee also reserves the right to withhold the Award in any given year or to extend deadlines for submission and notification. HISTORY OF THE SOUTH ASIAN LITERARY FESTIVAL: The South Asian Literary Festival (SALF) was started in 2000 by The Network of South Asian Professionals in the Washington, D.C. area (NETSAP-DC). The festival was organized in hopes of creating a medium for the discussion of books and authors concerned with the South Asian diasporas. This years festival is scheduled for October, 2003. To read about the last festival, held in 2001, click here: http://www.salfdc.org/welcome.html THE SOUTH ASIAN THEATER ARTS GUILD EXPERIMENT (STAGE) NetSAP-DC's South Asian Theater Arts Guild Experiment (STAGE) is planning a theatre arts festival to advance South Asian writing and performance arts in the United States. STAGE's goal is to develop and cultivate a South Asian theater community in the greater Washington D.C/Baltimore area. THE SOUTH ASIAN THEATER ARTS GUILDS CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Stage is currently seeking scripts for short plays, monologues, and one-acts (5 - 30 minutes in length). Three to five scripts will be chosen by a review committee for production in a theater festival to be held in conjunction with the annual South Asian Literary Festival in Washington D.C., in October 2003. Scripts should be original and in English; there is no subject restriction. Scripts will be evaluated for quality of writing, level of insight/depth, ease of production,* and audience enjoyment. All scripts must be submitted on a Word document via email to netsapstage@hotmail.com byMay 1, 2003 |
| NK | Posted
on 22-Apr-03 08:17 AM
Sally!!! I saw my name but your posting is too big!! (lol) what is this? Did I win something without actually having to write something???????????? I am too busy, as you can see, figuring out how to post these damn picutres here in sajha board. How are you my dear? |
| sally | Posted
on 22-Apr-03 08:50 AM
Yes dahling you just won the title of Famous Sajhabasi Writer. It comes with a prize of ... getting your name mentioned in posts like this! (Thrilling, isn't it?) Sorry if the post is confusing. I think I put it up without connecting my hands and my brain. It happens sometime. EXPLANATION: This is a contest, with a May 1 deadline, for South Asian writing in English. The prize, I gather, is help in getting published. It's open to anyone who has 30 pages of a novel, short story collection, memoir, or poetry to submit. (Oh yes. And $10, too. But this is a serious contest ... pretty big-name judges.) It occurs to me that there are a few Sajhabasi out there who like to write. So why not? |
| NK | Posted
on 22-Apr-03 09:24 AM
Thanks for the information Sally. Maybe, somebody from Sajha will decide to bite the bullet, who knows |