Del Sol Press announces the Robert Olen Butler Fiction Prize for the best short story, either published (in a periodical) or unpublished, 2000-8000 words. We invite contest submissions from both emerging and established writers. In keeping with the philosophy of Web del Sol, we are only interested in the very best fiction, regardless of source or type.

Our judge for the first year of the competition is Robert Olen Butler himself (bio below).

The top ten finalist stories will be published in book form in Spring 2005. Finalists will be invited to submit book-length manuscripts for consideration by Del Sol Press.

Winner Receives

A $1,000 honorarium, paid in January 2005, publication in a Spring 2005 Del Sol Press anthology, a brief introduction by the judge, and 20 copies of the anthology that features their story.

Eligibility

• Writers who are at least 18 years of age and who live inside or outside the United States.
• Translations are not eligible; stories must be in English.
• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable (as long as you let us know immediately if the manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere).
• Multiple submissions are fine; include a separate reading fee with each.
• Employees, volunteers and board members of Web del Sol, or their partners or spouses, or their immediate families, or immediate family of the judge are not eligible.

Competition Guidelines

• Deadline (postmark): November 01, 2004.
• Stories must be between 2000 and 8000 words.
• $16.00 contest fee for the first story (includes a copy of the anthology when it is published if you send a 8x10" SASE with $1.42 in postage); $5.00 for each additional story (doesn't include another copy of the book). Please make checks out to Web Del Sol.
• Include two cover pages: one with your contact information (phone, email, address, where the story has been published if it has been previously published), and one with the title of your submission (minus your name). Your name should not appear on the manuscript itself. Manuscripts are read anonymously.
• Type or word-process on standard white paper, on one side of the page only.
• Paginate consecutively.
• Bind with a spring clip (no paperclips, please) or put it in a separate folder with your name on the outside of the folder.
• We will consider unpublished stories as well as stories that have appeared in periodicals (not if they have appeared as part of a story collection, however), provided that the author can obtain reprint rights..
• Include a stamped, self-addressed postcard for notification of receipt of manuscript if you want notification.
• Please keep a copy of your entry. Manuscripts not selected for publication will be recycled.

  Postmark no later than 11/01/04 and include $16.00 reading fee to:

  Del Sol Press Fiction Contest
  648 Crescent NE
  Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Robert Olen Butler is the author of ten novels and two collections of stories. In addition to a Pulitzer Prize in 1993 and a National Magazine Award in 2001 (both for fiction), he has received a Guggenheim fellowship in fiction and an NEA grant, as well as the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He teaches creative writing at Florida State University. His most recent collection, Had a Good Time: Stories from American Postcards will be published by Grove Press in July 2004.