Your Entry
Thanks for considering us! We are looking for writing with no holds barred: visceral, subtle, loud, honest, confounding prose that tackles a personal or universal truth and that makes us see the world around us more clearly or from a different perspective. Whether the manuscript deals with themes related to social justice, persecution, feminism, or reveals something about what it’s like to struggle through this world--with all the related losses and triumphs and unanswered questions that entails--we want to read it! Our past publications explore these themes with an additional focus on intersectionality.
For this contest, we are specifically looking for novels, short story collections, or autobiographical fiction. All qualifying entries will be first read by screeners, and finalists will be sent to Xochitl Gonzalez, our esteemed judge and bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming.
About Us
Jaded Ibis Press is an independent, nonprofit, feminist press committed to publishing socially engaged literature with an emphasis on the historically marginalized voices. We aggressively pursue all literary awards and our books are well decorated, with emblems from the Shirley Jackson Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, the American Book Prize, and others.
Contracted authors will enjoy a developmental edit and an in-house copy editor, as well as working closely with our in-house layout and design team. JIP provides full support throughout the duration of your contract, working in partnership with you to get your book as widely read as possible. We offer a competitive 40% royalties to authors.
Eligibility and Terms
- The grand prize is $1,500 plus a competitive publishing contract, but all submissions will be considered for publication.
- Authors retain all rights to their work.
- The reading fee is $20.
- There is a pay-it-forward option, 100% of which will be used to cover the entry fee for authors who are not able to afford the fee. If you are unable to pay the entry fee, please contact us.
- Manuscripts should be a minimum of 45,000 words and a maximum of 75,000 words
- Manuscripts should be submitted in Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced, with page numbers on every page. Manuscripts are expected to be polished, and works needing extensive developmental work or riddled with inconsistencies and grammatical errors may be rejected.
- No personally identifying information should appear on the manuscript itself.
- All unpublished work written in English by one author living in the United States is eligible. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify us if publication is offered elsewhere.