Submissions Now Open for 2027 Joyce Carol Oates Prize
OAKLAND, CA—New Literary Project (NewLit) announces that submissions are now open for its 2027 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. The annual $50,000 Prize is awarded to a mid-career author of fiction, novels and/or short stories, a writer of consequence at the relative midpoint of a burgeoning career, one who represents NewLit’s vision and mission. The JCO Prize Recipient is a distinguished author who has emerged and is still emerging, and the Prize is awarded in testament to literary career achievement, not for a specific book, as well as in support of work to come.
In order to be considered for the Prize, authors’ most recently published full-length work of fiction will be entered via Submittable (explained below).
Writers based in the United States who have published at least two notable full-length works of fiction (novels and/or short stories) are eligible.
Submissions close on October 30, 2026.
This would be the twelfth award offered by the not-for-profit New Literary Project, founded in 2015, which inspires and equips writers across the generations to “write their hearts out,” in the words of Joyce Carol Oates. She is an author and teacher beloved and admired for generations by legions of students, writers, and readers around the country and the world, and is an honorary member of the NewLit Board of Directors and onetime NewLit Writer in Residence.
The Joyce Carol Oates Prize is a working prize, in the sense that the prize-winning author during the NewLit Roadshow will take up brief residence with the University of California, Berkeley, English Department and in the Bay Area, including the MFA Department of Saint Mary’s College of California–teaching and public speaking–in Fall 2027, dates to be determined.
The Prize is offered by NewLit, collaborating since inception with its marquee partner, the University of California, Berkeley, English Department, and more recently with the Saint Mary’s College of California MFA Department. Based in Oakland, California, NewLit appreciates the trust of generous individuals as well as altruistic family foundations and corporate donors who subscribe to its vision and sustain its multifaceted programs. Through a variety of innovative initiatives, including the Prize, the organization drives social change, unleashes artistic power, and lifts up a literate, democratic society.
Prize-winning authors’ publishers are trusted to contribute their meaningful support and whole-hearted good will.
“Over the past eleven years, we have been dazzled by the submitted authors and cheered by the bracing vitality of literary publishing. Since 2015, we have longlisted 371 writers from fifty-eight publishing houses, forty-nine of whom became finalists from twenty-six publishing houses, and eleven of whom, from eight publishing houses, were named Joyce Carol Oates Prize Recipients. We eagerly look forward to considering this year’s submissions and to celebrating these authors along with their publishers.”
—Joseph Di Prisco, NewLit founder and chair
General Submission Process & Guidelines for Joyce Carol Oates Prize
Publishers, editors, agents, publicists, marketers, and authors themselves may complete the online entry form and submit associated submission fees no later than 8:59 p.m. Pacific on October 30, 2026 through the Submittable link.
$95 entry fee for each submission of a mid-career author based in the United States: that is, an author with at least two published full-length books of fiction composed in English (novels and/or short stories) and one who has yet to garner capstone or lifetime achievement recognition (such as a Pulitzer, NBA, or MacArthur)—an author who is in the relatively middle stage of a burgeoning career.
Accepted forms of payment include credit card and PayPal. (No checks permitted.) Please be prepared with payment information before beginning online submission process.
Submissions include author’s current (most recently published) work of full-length fiction (novel or book of short stories) in a pdf. (Physical books will be later requested from authors designated on the Longlist.)
Submissions deemed ineligible by the Project will still be subject to the stated entry fee.
NewLit may on its own initiative invite submissions.
Each submission must list one person (with contact information, including email and phone) to coordinate all Prize–related matters. This person will be contacted in the case that an author becomes part of the Longlist or the subsequent shortlist of Finalists.
Author must be made aware of and consent to prize entry; author’s email and contact information required.
Longlist, Shortlist, and Prize Recipient Announcements
On or around November 11, 2026, New Literary Project will request physical books and additional information for authors identified for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize Longlist. Please do not send physical books or any additional information or materials unless specifically requested. Longlist books and materials must then arrive no later than November 21, 2026 to remain eligible—sent to a postal address to be identified.
2027 Joyce Carol Oates Prize Longlist announced early December 2026
2027 Joyce Carol Oates Prize Finalists announced early March 2027
2027 Joyce Carol Oates Prize Recipient announced April 2027
2027 Joyce Carol Oates Prize Recipient Guidelines
$50,000 awarded an author in recognition of mid-career literary achievement and future promise.
Author's publisher pledges whole-hearted support and good will with respect to the NewLit Roadshow and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize Fall Residency, as well as related activities of the Prize Recipient and New Literary Project.
Recipient collaborates with NewLit, sponsors, the University of California, Berkeley, English Department, and the Saint Mary's College of California MFA Department on NewLit-related engagements during the Prize year.
This is a working prize: the Prize Recipient will be in brief residence (seven or so days) during the NewLit Roadshow at the University of California, Berkeley, and in the Bay Area in Fall 2027, during a period to be mutually determined (traditionally in October or November). During the residence the Recipient teaches selected classes at Cal and Saint Mary’s and NewLit workshops, gives readings and talks, and makes public appearances coordinated by NewLit.
New Literary Project
Previous Joyce Carol Oates Prize Winners, with representative publication, are listed below. They are expected to continue engagements with New Literary Project:
2026 Erika Krouse, Save Me, Stranger (Flatiron)
2025 Jennine Capó Crucet, Say Hello to My Little Friend (Simon & Schuster)
2025 Willy Vlautin, The Horse (HarperCollins)
2024 Ben Fountain, Devil Makes Three (Flatiron)
2023 Manuel Muñoz, The Consequences (Graywolf Press)
2022 Lauren Groff, Matrix (Riverhead)
2021 Danielle Evans, The Office of Historical Corrections (Riverhead)
2020 Daniel Mason, The Winter Soldier (Little, Brown)
2019 Laila Lalami, The Other Americans (Pantheon)
2018 Anthony Marra, The Tsar of Love and Techno (Hogarth)
2017 T. Geronimo Johnson, Welcome to Braggsville (HarperCollins)
New Literary Project, a not-for-profit created in 2015, fosters new literature, supports authors, and enhances the lives of readers, writers, educators, librarians, and high school and college students in diverse communities in California and the nation. Along with the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, the Project offers–at no cost–high school-age writers Bonetti-Bell Writing Workshops and Starn Writing Workshops, led by Bonetti-Bell Fellows and Starn Fellows, UC Berkeley English Department graduate student creative writing teachers and Saint Mary’s College of California MFA creative writing teachers. In Spring 2027, eleven workshops are expected to take place in marginalized communities, such as Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall, Girls Inc. of Alameda County, Hope Solutions, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Northgate High School, and elsewhere.
In addition, NewLit curates an annual anthology of Project-related artists, including Joyce Carol Oates, Prize winners, and finalists along with younger writers appearing in print for the first time. Simpsonistas: Tales from New Literary Project Vol. 8 (published by Rare Bird Books) launches in October 2026, internationally distributed by Simon & Schuster.
NewLit also offers annual Jack Hazard Summer Fellowships, $5,000 each to creative writers teaching high school anywhere in the United States. Since 2022, forty-five Jack Hazard Fellows have been named from seventeen states around the nation. For Summer 2027, the fifth class of Jack Hazard Fellows is to be named.
For more information, please contact:
Vanessa Merina, Executive Director
vanessa@newliteraryproject.org
https://www.newliteraryproject.org/