The Parthenon Prize for Fiction will award $15,000 and publication for an unpublished novel under a standard traditional book contract with Hooded Friar Press (formerly Magellan/Cold Tree Press.) The purpose of this competition, open to both published and unpublished writers nationwide, is to discover book-length works of literary excellence written in English.

Manuscripts will be accepted between February 1 and March 31, 2008.

Submissions will be read and judged anonymously. A final judge will choose the winning manuscript from a pool of finalists narrowed by a team of readers. The final judge for the 2008 competition is Alice Randall, author of Pushkin and the Queen of Spades and The Wind Done Gone.



The contest is open to any U.S. resident writing in English for adult readers. Both published and unpublished writers are welcome to submit manuscripts. To avoid any conflict of interest, close friends, family members, current or former students, employees, board members, or clients of the final judge, contest director, sponsor, or publisher are not eligible to submit manuscripts.

We invite only full-length, original, unpublished literary novels. Translations, works of non-fiction, and short story collections cannot be considered. Full-length manuscripts are defined as novels of 60,000 to 200,000 words. Novellas will not be considered. All manuscripts must conform to the format described in these guidelines.

Chapters previously published in periodicals are eligible for inclusion in a submission; however, chapters previously published in a book-length collection of the author’s own work may not be included.



Manuscripts submitted to The Parthenon Prize for Fiction may also be submitted to other contests and publishers; however, the contest director must be notified immediately, in writing, if the manuscript is awarded a prize or accepted for publication elsewhere.

More than one manuscript may be submitted to the competition provided the appropriate reading fee is included with each submission and that each work does not duplicate material submitted to us in another manuscript.



Novel manuscripts must be between 60,000 and 200,000 words, of letter-quality print (no dot-matrix) on standard white paper. Please use an easy-to-read font, such as Times New Roman 12 pt., in black ink. Text must be double-spaced, and every page should have page number and be printed on one side of the paper only. Manuscripts should not be bound or in a folder of any kind; instead, please use two heavyweight rubber bands to bind the manuscript and a padded mailer for shipping. We will not accept email submissions.

The submitted manuscript must be accompanied by two title pages: one with the title only; the other with the title and author's name, address, phone number, and email address (if available.) The author's name or other identifying information must not appear anywhere else in the manuscript. Do not include an acknowledgements page or author’s bio.

Submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines will be disqualified.

The contest administrator cannot consider manuscript revisions during the course of the submission and judging period; however, the winning author will be given the opportunity to make revisions before publication.



A check or money order in the amount of $25, payable to The Parthenon Prize, must accompany each manuscript. Please do not send cash. All entry fees are non-refundable.

Manuscripts must be postmarked between February 1 and March 31, 2008. The winner will be notified in September and the cash prize will be awarded in October 2008 in Nashville, TN. Book publication will occur the following year.

No application forms are necessary. Each manuscript must be accompanied by an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) to receive contest results and can include an SASP (self-addressed stamped postcard) for confirmation of manuscript receipt, if desired. FedEx and UPS will be accepted only if no signature is required. Do not include an envelope for the return of your manuscript. Manuscripts will not be returned; they will be recycled. Be sure to retain a copy of your manuscript for your records.



Your submitted manuscript must be an original work of which you are sole author and must be submitted in accordance with the above eligibility requirements and format guidelines or it will be disqualified.

No entry fees or manuscripts will be returned.

This competition is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

Although the greatest care will be taken with submitted materials, The Parthenon Prize for Fiction assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged manuscripts.

The decision of the judge is final. If, for any reason, the judge is unable to choose a winner, the contest administrator will choose the prize-winning manuscript. If, however, both the judge and contest director find that no manuscript, in their estimation, merits the award and publication, no winner may be chosen; only in this circumstance will submission fees be refunded. No manuscripts, however, will be returned.

The author of the winning manuscript will receive the monetary prize and be offered a standard traditional publishing contract with Hooded Friar Press. The winner is under no obligation to sign this contract and is encouraged to consider this contract under legal advice or that of the Author’s Guild of America.

Should the winning author choose to accept the contract with Hooded Friar Press, the author is expected to work with the publishing editor on final manuscript preparation prior to publication. It is an ordinary and usual requirement for an author to accept editorial assistance in preparing his or her manuscript for publication.



Manuscripts must be postmarked between February 1 and March 31, 2008. Late manuscripts will be disqualified.

All submissions and correspondence should be sent to:

Lily LaBour Catalano, contest director
The Parthenon Prize for Fiction
2116 Hobbs Road, M-4
Nashville, TN 37215

Questions or inquiries can be made by emailing us at info@parthenonprize.com