Submission Guidelines for the Young Lions Fiction Award

We are pleased to invite you to submit nominees for The New York Public Library’s Twelfth Annual Young Lions Fiction Award, to be given in the spring of 2012.  This award was created expressly to promote the work of young writers, to celebrate their accomplishments publicly, and to make a difference in the lives of these artists as they continue to build their careers.  The award, which carries a $10,000 prize, is given annually to an American writer age 35 or younger for either a novel or collection of short stories.  The 2011 prize was given to Adam Levin for his novel The Instructions.

To be considered for this prize, the candidate must meet the following requirements:

• The writer must be age 35 or younger during 2011.
• The book must be written for adults (no children’s or YA).
• He or she should be a citizen of the U.S.
• The work should be either a novel or a collection of short stories published between January 2011 and December 2011.  We will accept submissions in galley form for works to be published after the submission deadline of Friday, September 2, 2011.  
• The publisher must submit all books.  Authors may not submit their work on their own.

Each submission will be read by several members of our Reading Committee, who will then select the five finalists.  A prestigious panel of three award judges will subsequently select the winner of the $10,000 prize.

This award is part of the Young Lions Program, a membership program for donors in their 20s and 30s who are dedicated to supporting the mission of the Library.  The Young Lions Program hosts several events each season, highlighting the work of young writers and other artists who are making an impact on our city and the world.

We are accepting nominations for the Young Lions Fiction Award through September 2, 2011, and hope you will submit qualified works from among your many talented writers.  Should you have any questions regarding the award, please contact the Young Lions Program at 212.930.0887.

We look forward to receiving your wonderful books.

Please click here for the Twelfth Annual Young Lions Fiction Award submission Form : //www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Submission_Form_YLFA_2012_4.pdf