Tucson Festival of Books 14th Annual Literary Awards Application Has Closed

Tucson Festival of Books 14th Annual Literary Awards application has closed for 2026 competitions. Winners and finalists will be notified by December 22, 2025.

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First-place winners in each category will receive $1,000, second-place $500, and third-place $250 along with full scholarships to attend the 2026 Tucson Festival of Books Masters Workshop in March following the Tucson Festival of Books. The top 50 entrants will be invited to this exclusive workshop, which features a faculty of distinguished U.S. writers. Read about last year's winners here.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Writers must be age 18 or older.
• $20 entry fee per submission.
• Unlimited number of entries.
• Submit up to 5 poems of any length, a short story, novel excerpt, OR a nonfiction piece or book excerpt.
• Poem submissions must be sent as a single document with appropriate page breaks (up to 5 poems per submission).
• Stories for children, academic, and "how-to" nonfiction are not accepted.
• Submissions should include genre (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) along with title.
• Submissions must be in English and unpublished at the time of entry (with the exception of self-published work).
• The author’s name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript. Include name and contact information in the “Cover Letter” box. Manuscripts with the author's name anywhere on them will be disqualified.
• Authors retain all rights to submitted work.
• Winners and the top 50 will be notified by December 21, 2025. The top 50 finalists will be invited to attend the Masters Workshop March 16-17 in Tucson ($350 fee).