January 11, 2019
Devil’s Kitchen Literary Festival open to book submissions for 2019 awards
CARBONDALE, Ill. — With the annual Devil’s Kitchen Literary Festival on the horizon, authors and publishers are invited to submit books published in 2018 to be considered for a 2019 Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award.
According to the event website, winners will receive a $1,000 honorarium and paid accommodations and travel to present at the festival on Oct. 23-25. Sponsored by the English department at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Grassroots, SIU’s undergraduate magazine, the festival highlights a wide-range of creative work and welcomes submissions from a variety of perspectives.
Poetry and prose accepted
Winners will be selected from three different categories:
- One book of poetry (book-length or single-author collection).
- One book of fiction (novel, novella or single-author short fiction collection).
- One book of prose nonfiction (literary nonfiction, memoir or single-author essay collection).
As one of the first national literary festivals coordinated by undergraduate students, Grassroots boasts a long history of creative work. The student editors of Grassroots will select all of the 2019 award winners, with SIU faculty acting as final judges. 2018 books published independently, or through a university or commercial publicist, are all eligible. Winners must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, not current students or employees at SIU and not published authors with the SIU Press. Additionally, all winners must agree to attend the literary festival in October.
Submissions due by Feb. 1
To allow time for careful review and consideration, authors or publishers must submit entries no later than Feb. 1. Entries must include a copy of the book, a cover letter, a brief author biography with other publications noted, and a $30 entry fee. Applicants can make checks payable to SIUC-Dept. of English, or email grassrootsmag@gmail.com for electronic submissions. All materials should be marked for poetry or prose, and sent to Devil’s Kitchen Reading Awards/Grassroots. Dept. of English, Mail Code 4503, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1000 Faner Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901.
For more information, contact the Grassroots editors at 618/453-6833.