COLUMBIA, SC - In honor of the 40th Anniversary of the South Carolina Arts Commission, the Commission and its literary partners are pleased to announce a call for submissions for the South Carolina First Novel Competition. The application deadline is January 2, 2008; the award winner will be announced in May 2008.
COLUMBIA, SC - In honor of the 40th Anniversary of the South Carolina Arts Commission, the Commission and its literary partners are pleased to announce a call for submissions for the South Carolina First Novel Competition. The application deadline is January 2, 2008; the award winner will be announced in May 2008.
Partnering with the SC Arts Commission and the Hub City Writers Project for this inaugural competition are the South Carolina State Library and the Humanities Council SC. The contest, which will offer one South Carolina writer an opportunity to have their first novel published by Hub City, will be judged by a nationally recognized writer.
“In his Nobel speech, Faulkner said that writers struggle to ‘create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before,’” said Sara June Goldstein, director of literary arts for the SC Arts Commission. “The partners have high expectations for the First Novel Competition because it is a unique opportunity to appreciate the depth and breadth of the work of our remarkable SC writers, and then to get the best of that fine writing into the hands of our state’s readers.”
The winning author will receive a book contract with the Hub City Writers Project, an award-winning independent press in Spartanburg, SC. The winner will receive a $1,000 advance against royalties, and Hub City will publish at least 1,200 hardback copies of the book, including a book for every public library branch in the state.
"The Hub City Writers Project looks forward to publishing the winner of the First Novel Competition and to sharing the work of a deserving SC writer with readers around this state and beyond," said Betsy Teter, executive director of the Hub City Writers Project.
The project is funded in part by Library Services and Technology Act Partnership grant monies administered by the SC State Library and the Institute of Museums and Library Services.
For information about First Novel Competition eligibility requirements and application guidelines, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com/firstnovel or call (803) 734-8696.
About Hub City
Hub City Writers Project, based in Spartanburg, SC, has published 30 books by regional authors, won two national IPPY awards from Independent Publisher magazine, is a recipient of the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Award for the Arts in South Carolina, and has partnered with the SC Arts Commission on two previous book projects.
About SCAC
The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission focuses on increasing public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.