Fiction Prize

For the 2026 prize, the Autumn House staff as well as select outsider readers, serve as the preliminary readers, and the final judge is Amber Sparks. The winner receives publication of their full-length manuscript and $2,500. The submission period opens on January 1, 2026, and closes on February 28, 2026 (Eastern Time). We will announce the finalists and the winner in June 2026. 

Guidelines for the Autumn House Fiction Prize

• The winner will receive book publication, a $1,000 honorarium, and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote their book
• All finalists will be considered for publication
• Fiction submissions should be approximately 150-300 double-spaced pages (37,500- 75,000 words)
• The reading fee is $35 (We will waive the submission fee for those undergoing financial hardship or living with limited means. Before you reach out to request a waived fee, please read our full statement and instructions here. If the guidelines are not followed, we will not be able to offer a waived fee.)
• All fiction sub-genres (short stories, short-shorts, novellas, or novels) or any combination of sub-genres are eligible. Autumn House does not publish genre fiction; however, this certainly doesn’t mean your book can’t have elements of mystery, fantasy, romance, etc. We also do not publish YA or children’s lit.
• The book must be previously unpublished as a whole. However, individual pieces may have been published in journals, magazines, or anthologies.
• Use of AI to create and revise the structure, language, or creative development of the work is prohibited. This includes brainstorming, idea generation or refinement, outlining, drafting, rewriting, or developmental editing. Standard editing tools, such as spell check, grammar check, and thesaurus functions built into word processors, are permitted.
• Do not include your name anywhere on the actual manuscript
• Do not include a bio or an acknowledgments page in the manuscript
• Feel free to include a table of contents (This does not count as part of your final page count)
• Simultaneous submissions permitted
• Friends, family members, and former students of judges or Autumn House editors may not submit to the prize. Students do not include interactions at short-term residencies or fellowships.
• Former employees of Autumn House, including interns, may not submit to the prize.

If you have any questions, please check our FAQ page.

 

 

Amber Sparks is the author of the short story collections And I Do Not Forgive You and The Unfinished World, and the forthcoming novel, Happy People Don’t Live Here. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Slate, and elsewhere. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, daughter, and cats.

 

 

Winners of the Autumn House Fiction Prize

Year	Author	Title	Judge
2025	Adam O’Fallon Price	Objects of Desire: Stories	Alexandra Kleeman
2024	Lauren Woods	The Great Grownup Game of Make-Believe	Kristen Arnett
2023	Marian Crotty	Near Strangers	Pam Houston
2022	Salvatore Pane	The Neorealist in Winter: Stories	Venita Blackburn
2021	Wendy Wimmer	Entry Level	Deesha Philyaw
2020	Kevin Honold	Molly	Dan Chaon
2019	Michael X. Wang	Further News of Defeat: Stories	Aimee Bender
2018	Hadley Moore	Not Dead Yet and Other Stories	Dana Johnson
2017	Glori Simmons	Carry You	Amina Gautier
2016	Andrew Bourelle	Heavy Metal	William Lychack
2015	Kathy Anderson	Bull and Other Stories	Sharon Dilworth
2014	Mark Brazaitis	Truth Poker	Sharon Dilworth
2013	Tom Noyes	Come by Here	Kathleen George
2012	Sarah Gerkensmeyer	What You Are Now Enjoying	Stewart O’Nan
2011	Sharma Shields	Favorite Monster	Stewart O’Nan
2010	Ashley Cowger	Peter Never Came	Sharon Dilworth
2009	Matthew Pitt	Attention Please Now	Sharon Dilworth
2008	Samuel Ligon	Drift and Swerve	Sharon Dilworth

 

We strive to run our prizes ethically and subscribe to CLMP’s guidelines. We encourage you to reach out if you are uncertain about a potential conflict of interest.