www.siuc.edu/~grassroots/dkawards.html

The Department of English at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and GRASSROOTS, SIUC’s undergraduate literary magazine, are pleased to announce the 2009 Devil’s Kitchen Reading Awards. One book of poetry and one book of prose (novel, short fiction, or literary nonfiction) will be selected from submissions of titles published in 2008, and the winning authors will receive an honorarium of $1000 and will present a public reading and participate in panels at the Devil’s Kitchen Fall Literary Festival at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. The dates for the 2009 festival are yet to be determined, but usually takes place in late October/early November. Travel and accommodations will be provided for the two winners.

Entries may be submitted by either author or publisher, and must include a copy of the book, a cover letter, a brief biography of the author including previous publications, and a $15.00 entry fee made out to “SIUC – Dept. of English.” Entries must be postmarked December 1, 2008 – February 1, 2009. Materials postmarked after February 1 will be returned unopened. Because we cannot guarantee their return, all entries will become the property of the SIUC Department of English. Entrants wishing acknowledgment of receipt of materials must include a self-addressed stamped postcard.

Judges will come from the faculty of SIUC’s MFA Program in Creative Writing and the award winners will be selected by the staff of GRASSROOTS. The winners will be notified in May 2009. All entrants will be notified of the results in June 2009.

The awards are open to single-author titles published in 2008 by independent, university, or commercial publishers. The winners must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must agree to attend and participate in the 2009 Devil’s Kitchen Fall Literary Festival to receive the award. Entries from vanity presses and self-published books are not eligible. Current students and employees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and authors published by Southern Illinois University Press are not eligible.

Send all materials to:

Devil’s Kitchen Reading Awards/GRASSROOTS
Dept. of English, Mail Code 4503
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
1000 Faner Drive
Carbondale, IL 62901
(please indicate “Poetry” or “Prose” on envelope)

For further information, e-mail grassrootsmag@gmail.com or call 618-453-6833.