Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes

The Donald Windham Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes are an American literary award offering unrestricted grants in four categories, namely fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama. Established at Yale University in 2011, the first prizes were presented in 2013. Administered by the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, the award recognizes English-language writers from across the world. The mission of the award is to call attention to literary achievement and provide writers the opportunity to focus on their work independent of financial concerns. In 2017, the category of poetry was added and eight prizes have been awarded annually since then. Since 2023, winners receive a citation, award and an unrestricted grant of $175,000. The individual prizes are among the richest literary prize amounts in the world, if not the richest in certain categories.

From the Wikipedia article “Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Check the official rules of the Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.