“Few literary prizes are devoted to the celebration of immigrant writing. Fewer still are dedicated to providing a platform for immigrant writers by publishing their work. Chief among these is the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing.”
The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing was created in 2015 to honor outstanding debut literary works by first-generation immigrants, awarded for fiction and nonfiction in alternating years. The winner receives $10,000 and publication by Restless Books.
GUIDELINES AND ELIGIBILITY
The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing (hereafter referred to as “the Prize”) alternates yearly between accepting unpublished fiction and nonfiction submissions. Fiction submissions can take the form of a novel or a book-length collection of short stories. Nonfiction submissions can take the form of a memoir, a collection of essays, or a book-length work of narrative nonfiction. The submission should address some combination of identity, the meeting of cultures and communities, immigration and migration, and today’s globalized society.
Fiction manuscripts must be complete. Nonfiction submissions must consist of either a complete manuscript, or a sample of at least 25,000 words and a detailed proposal that includes a synopsis and an annotated table of contents. All submissions must be in English—translations are welcome.
Candidates must be first-generation residents of their country. “First-generation” can refer either to people born in another country who relocated, or to residents of a country whose parents were born elsewhere.
Fiction and nonfiction candidates must not have previously published a book-length work in English in the genre in which they’re applying. This includes self-published work. We encourage applicants to look at the other titles Restless has published and previous contest winners to get a sense of our aesthetic.
We will accept only one submission per candidate per submission period, and submissions must be under the author’s real name, not under a pseudonym. Agented submissions are welcome.*
Candidates may not submit the same manuscript for the Prize in subsequent years unless specifically invited by Restless.
Restless reserves the right to invite writers to submit for the Prize.
Restless reserves the right to consider any Prize submission for publication.
Submitted manuscripts may be simultaneously under consideration for publication by other publishing houses. Once a manuscript has been selected as the winner of the Prize, Restless will ask that the manuscript be withdrawn from consideration elsewhere. A publishing contract between the winning author and Restless Books must be signed before the winner is announced.
* Please note that while Restless Books welcomes all submissions for the Prize, we do not accept unsolicited manuscripts for our regular publishing program.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
Candidates are asked to submit the following:
A CV and one-page cover letter: the letter should address the candidate’s background as a writer, experience as an immigrant, and a succinct paragraph describing the submitted work and the inspiration for it.
All files must be submitted together in one document. Please include the CV and cover letter as the first pages of your submission.
The text should be double-spaced, in twelve-point font, with numbered pages.
Submissions must be uploaded as a PDF.
Please adhere to the required word length. Fiction manuscripts must be complete, with a minimum of 45,000 words. Nonfiction samples must be at least 25,000 words in length, and if incomplete, they should include a detailed proposal with a synopsis and an annotated table of contents.
Restless will accept only electronic submissions by way of our submissions manager.
There is a $20 fee to submit a manuscript for consideration. Please contact us if this presents a hardship for you.
SUBMISSIONS PERIOD
Submissions for the 2024 Prize in Fiction will be accepted from January 1, 2024, through June 7, 2024.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I have published in English academic books or books not in the category the prize selects for this year. Am I still eligible to submit?
Yes, you are still eligible to submit. Eligible submitters may have published books in English outside of the category the prize selects during the current year. (For example, the published author of an academic book could submit a novel during a year the prize accepts fiction.)
I was born in my current country of residence and one of my parents is foreign-born, the other born here. Do I qualify as a first-generation immigrant for the purposes of this competition?
Unfortunately, no. Only foreign-born writers who relocated to their country of residence or residents whose parents were both born elsewhere qualify as first-generation immigrants for the purposes of the competition.
I have a book that doesn’t qualify for the prize but that I’d like to place with Restless Books. Does Restless have open submissions and can I send my proposal?
Unfortunately, no. Restless does not accept unsolicited submissions outside of the Prize for New Immigrant Writing unless submitted by an agent.
Can I submit a book outside the submissions period?
Unfortunately, no, but keep an eye out for the submissions period in the following year.