Fourth Genre is currently accepting submissions for the 9th annual Fourth Genre Steinberg Essay Prize!

Deadline extended to March 23rd!

This year's contest judge is Scott Russell Sanders. He is the author of twenty books of fiction and nonfiction, including A Private History of Awe and A Conservationist Manifesto. The best of his essays from the past thirty years, plus nine new essays, are collected in Earth Works (2012 by Indiana University Press). Among his honors are the Lannan Literary Award, the John Burroughs Essay Award, the Mark Twain Award, the Cecil Woods Award for Nonfiction, the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award, and Guggenheim and NEA fellowships. In 2012 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Submission Guidelines for the Fourth Genre Steinberg Essay Prize

• The winning author receives $1,000 and the winning entry will be published in issue 16.1 (Winter 2014).
• Reading period: January 1-March 23. Submissions must be postmarked on or before March 23.
• Reading fee: $20 (U.S.) per entry
• Make checks payable to “Michigan State University Press”
• Multiple submissions accepted; include $20 entry fee for each individual submission
• Include in cover letter (one page limit): name, address, phone number, email address, title of piece, and approximate word count
•The author's name or contact information should appear nowhere in the manuscript, including headers, footers, and title pages. No names should appear in the manuscript that could be used to identify the author or the author's affiliations.
• 6,000 word limit (Longer submissions will not be read)
• Winners will be announced at http://www.msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg; all manuscripts recycled

Eligibility

• Current Michigan State University students, faculty, and staff are not eligible to enter the Fourth Genre Michael Steinberg Essay Prize Contest.
• Electronic submissions will not be considered
• Only previously unpublished manuscripts will be accepted

Replies

• For manuscript receipt confirmation, include a self-address stamped postcard
• Contest status queries will not be accepted
• Winner and runner-up (if applicable) announced at the end of April

Send submissions to:
Fourth Genre Steinberg Essay Prize
434 Farm Lane, Rm. 235
Dept. of Writing, Rhetoric & American Cultures
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1033

For more information, or to view past winners, visit the Fourth Genre Michael Steinberg Essay Prize page.