Now in its eighth year, The Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel is a memorial to a Tennessee native who became one of the most important literary artists of the twentieth century. The New York Times called Peter Taylor “one of the greatest writers America has ever produced,” and critics have compared him to Henry James, Anton Chekhov, and even Jane Austen. Peter Taylor authored thirteen critically-acclaimed works of fiction, including The Collected Stories, hailed by Joyce Carol Oates as “one of the great works of our literature,” and A Summons to Memphis, which received the Pulitzer Prize.

The goal of the competition is to identify and publish novels of high literary quality. The Prize includes a $1000 cash award and publication by the University of Tennessee Press. The competition is open to published and unpublished novelists nationwide. Manuscripts will be accepted between February 1, 2007 and April 30, 2007.

Manuscripts submitted to the contest will be read and judged anonymously. A final judge will choose the winning manuscript from a pool of finalists.

Final judge for the 2007 Peter Taylor Prize will be acclaimed short story writer, novelist and poet Kelly Cherry, author of more than 20 books and recipient of numerous literary honors, including an O. Henry Award, a Pushcart Prize, and the James G. Hanes Prize from the Fellowship of Southern Authors. A Eudora Welty Professor Emerita of English, Cherry is featured frequently at universities and writers' workshops across the country, including Duke University, Bennington Writers' Workshops, and the Mount Holyoke Writers Conference. Cherry's work has been included in more than one hundred anthologies, and she is a contributor to publications such as Atlantic Monthly, Commentary, Esquire, Fiction, Georgia Review, Los Angeles Times Book Review, Ms., Mademoiselle, New York Times Book Review, Southern Review, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among many others. Her latest novel is We Can Still Be Friends, published by Soho Press.

The 2006 Peter Taylor Prize was awarded to John J. McLaughlin of Seattle, Washington, for his novel, Run in the Fam’ly. Final judge was novelist Jon Manchip White, who described the novel as “a serious study of the African-American experience” and “a considerable accomplishment” reminiscent of Emile Zola in its “amalgam of a gripping narrative with a sober sociological comment.” Run in the Fam’ly will be published by the University of Tennessee Press in the fall of 2007.

Past titles include Mark Powell’s Blood Kin, chosen by Jill McCorkle; John Parras’ Fire on Mount Maggiore, chosen by Barry Hannah; Eliezer Sobel's Minyan: Ten Jewish Men in a World That is Heartbroken, chosen by John Casey; Sarah Van Arsdale's Blue, chosen by Alan Cheuse; A.G. Harmon's A House All Stilled, chosen by Doris Betts; and DeWitt Henry's The Marriage of Anna Maye Potts, chosen by George Garrett. To order these books, please visit www.knoxvillewritersguild.org or www.utpress.org.

Eligibility
The contest is open to any U.S. resident writing in English. Members of the Knoxville Writers' Guild, current or former students of the judge, and employees and students of the University of Tennessee system are not eligible.

Only full-length, unpublished novels will be considered. Short story collections, translations, or non-fiction cannot be considered. All manuscripts must conform to the format described in these guidelines.

Simultaneous Submissions
Manuscripts submitted to the Peter Taylor Prize competition may also be submitted to other publishers. The Peter Taylor Prize Committee must be notified immediately if the manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Multiple Submissions
More than one manuscript may be submitted to the competition, provided the appropriate reading fee is included with each submission.

Manuscript Format
Manuscripts should be a minimum of 40,000 words and should be of letter-quality print on standard white paper. Text should be double-spaced, paginated, and printed on one side of the page only. Please do not use a binder; use two rubber bands instead. Please use a padded mailer for shipping.

The manuscript should be accompanied by two title pages: one with the title only; the other with the title and author's name, address, and phone number. The author's name or other identifying information should not appear anywhere else on the manuscript. Manuscripts will not be returned. They will be recycled.

Revisions
The winner will be given the opportunity to make revisions before publication, but no revisions can be made during the judging period.

Submission Information
A check in the amount of $25, payable to KWG, must accompany each manuscript. Please do not send cash. Manuscripts must be postmarked between February 1 and April 30, 2007. Contest results will be announced in December of 2007. Each manuscript must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped postcard for confirmation of receipt, along with an SASE for contest results. No FedEx or UPS, please. Send entries to:

Knoxville Writers' Guild
The Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel
P.O Box 2565
Knoxville, TN 37901-2565