SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR FRANK O’CONNOR AWARD
Deadline for receipt of entries and eligible publication dates
Titles eligible to be entered for the 2014 award need to have been published between July 1st 2013 and June 30th 2014. Proofs and bound typescripts are acceptable for titles scheduled to be published after the closing date for entries which for this year is March 18th 2014. Interested publishers are encouraged to submit immediately and not wait until the last moment.
Publicity requirements for publishers
The Frank O’Connor Short Story Award is remuneratively larger than any American book award for fiction The organisers of the award will not charge publishers of winning or shortlisted titles thousands of pounds as in the case of the Costa and Booker awards but in order to fulfil the award’s purpose in raising the marketing profile of the winning title in particular and the short story in general the following conditions will be enforced:
It is a condition of entry that the winning author attend the Cork International Short Story Festival in September and read from the winning book. The award organisers will pay for economy flights and choose hotel.
It is also a condition that all copies in print of the winning book and any subsequent English-language editions (up to five years after the award is made) carry a badge at the publisher’s expense (either as a sticker or part of the original printing) on the front cover declaring “Winner of the 2014 Frank O’Connor Short Story Award”.
It is a condition of entry that the winning author attend the Cork International Short Story Festival in September and read from the winning book. The award organisers will pay for economy flights and choose hotel.
It is also a condition that all copies in print of the winning book and any subsequent English-language editions (up to five years after the award is made) carry a badge at the publisher’s expense (either as a sticker or part of the original printing) on the front cover declaring “Winner of the 2014 Frank O’Connor Short Story Award”.
The Cork City – Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award is an annual award of €25,000 and is currently the world’s richest prize for a short story collection. The award is in memory of the late Frank O’Connor, one of the world’s most renowned short story writers. The award, organised by the Munster Literature Centre and funded by Cork City Council, is presented in O’Connor’s hometown of Cork, Ireland, at the end of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Festival. The prize is awarded to the author of the book judged to be the best collection of stories published in English for the first time anywhere in the world in the twelve months between a first publication date of between July 1st of the prior year and June 30th of the current year. If a translated book wins, the purse is shared equally between the author and translator. Volumes consisting wholly or mostly of flash fiction will not be considered.
How can books be entered for the award?
Publishers, authors and agents may enter eligible works of short fiction. Unfortunately self-publications and entries from vanity presses will not be considered. Books must be submitted by 12th March in six bound copies to the Munster Literature Centre, Frank O’Connor House, 84 Douglas Street, Cork, Ireland. There is no entry form, but a cover letter with contact information is required. Books considered in a particular year will have a first publication date of between July 1st of the prior year and June 30th of the current year. (For example, books considered in 2014 will have first publication dates of between July 1st, 2013 and June 30th, 2014.) Books due for publication before the closing date may be submitted in bound proof form.
What sort of books are entered in error?
Vanity press publications, subsidy publications and self-published work, books first published outside the year of consideration, books which collect or select stories published from the author’s previous short story collections and collections of novellas, flash fiction, titles which have previously been submitted for the award, and books by authors who are deceased.
How is the winner decided?
All eligible titles constitute the long-list, which is read by the jury. A short-list of four or six is chosen. The winner is selected after further deliberations from the short-list. If eligible titles entered exceeds 50 in number the Munster Literature Centre reserves the right to exclude certain entries from the longlist.
Who will serve as judges?
The judges are selected by the director of the Munster Literature Centre from published short-story writers and industry professionals with a track-record of involvement with the short story. From time to time, any other special category person may also be on the panel.
When will the shortlist be announced?
The short-list will be publicly announced early June.
How will the winner be announced?
The winner will be announced in early July. The winning author must agree to come and read at the Cork in September and read at the closing event of International Short Story Festival and speak at University College Cork on the following day. Payment of the award will not be made unless these conditions are met.
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