SNC Tahoe is pleased to present the inaugural Brian Turner Literary Arts Prize.

“Astound us. Spark the kindling and blow fire into the language. Approach the borders of the ineffable. Bring us language and imagination that transports us away from the expected and into our larger selves. Bring us blue jeans and shovels, calloused hands that shine of tenderness, pain, suffering, and love. Tell us stories built of wonder and surprise. And bring us the essential oxygen of our lives, the music of our time, histories that would otherwise be lost.

If you’ve been writing all your life and your relationship to language is one of great joy and great struggle, then this is a contest made especially for you. We want to celebrate your work. Give you some dough so you can pay a bill or two, maybe go out for a fine meal with your friends. Publish your work in a literary magazine to share with a wider audience. And, we’d like to sit down with you for a podcast interview—to talk with you about your work, your process, your thoughts on craft and aesthetics, and more.”

                                       —Brian Turner, on what the judges will be looking for

Inaugural prizes will be announced on July 1st, 2016.

The contest will begin accepting entries on March 21st, 2016. More details will be posted over the next two months, so check back here for updates. Here is what we can tell you now.

      1. The winner in each category will receive a $500 cash prize.

      2. The winner in each category will be interviewed about their work for a new podcast series. Details about the podcast series will be announced over the coming months.

      3. The winning entry in Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction will be published in a literary journal. Details about publication will be announced over the coming months. (This part is still in negotiation and may take into the year 2017 publication cycle. Please bear with us on this, as it takes time to create this infrastructure and to forge the relationships to magazines necessary to support this work.)

 Entry Guidelines:

Fee: $10 

            Poetry: Please enter 1-5 poems. Total page count: 15. [12-point Times New Roman font.] This prize is awarded to the entire entry—for the entry as a whole, rather than for one individual poem. We may publish some or all of the winning entry in the magazine (at the Editor’s discretion). The entire entry will be up for conversation when you are interviewed for the podcast. All subject matter and all styles welcome.

            Fiction: Please enter flash fiction pieces or short stories or a stand-alone excerpt from a longer work of fiction. (If entering a stand-alone excerpt—do not include any notes or preface material. It won’t be forwarded to the judges and the entry will be returned.) Each piece must work on its own without any preface or introductory material/explanation. Total page count: 15 pages. [12-point Times New Roman font.] We may publish some or all of the winning entry in the literary journal (at the Editor’s discretion).  The entire entry will be up for conversation when you are interviewed for the podcast. All subject matter and all styles welcome.

            Creative Nonfiction: Please enter short creative nonfiction pieces or a stand-alone excerpt from a longer work of creative nonfiction. (If entering a stand-alone excerpt—do not include any notes or preface material. It won’t be forwarded to the judges and the entry will be returned.) Each piece must work on it’s own without any preface or introductory material/explanation. Total page count: 15 pages. [12-point Times New Roman font.] We may publish some or all of the winning entry in the literary journal (at the Editor’s discretion).  The entire entry will be up for conversation when you are interviewed for the podcast. All subject matter and all styles welcome.

            Spoken Word: Record as an MP3 file (only); maximum of 3 minutes in duration. No video will be accepted. Only sound files. We accept only files that showcase the poet’s voice. In other words, we don’t accept files with background music, ambient sounds that accentuate the work, and so on. Give us the poet’s voice and only the poet’s voice. The poem must do its work aloud—with no help from other sources. All subject matter and all styles welcome.

All entries must be original and unpublished work. We cannot accept entries or work from any current or former Sierra Nevada College faculty members. Likewise, we cannot accept entries or work from current or former Sierra Nevada College students (at the graduate or undergraduate levels).