Please read carefully as our guidelines have significantly changed for the 2026 submission period.

Eligibility

1. The Prize is open to writers who have published a novel or a book-length collection of fiction with a reputable book publisher, or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in reputable magazines, journals, or online publications. Self-published materials do not count toward this requirement. 
2. The Prize is open to manuscripts in English, whether or not the authors are citizens of the United States. Manuscripts translated into English will be considered for the Prize. 
3. Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may comprise a maximum of 130 double-spaced pages); or a combination of one or more novellas and short stories. Novellas are only accepted as part of a larger collection. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 300 pages. Prior publication of the entire content of your manuscript in any format makes it ineligible. 
4. Manuscripts may also be under consideration by other publishers. However, if a manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere and you wish to accept this offer, you must immediately notify the Press and withdraw your manuscript from consideration as it is ineligible.
5. Authors may submit more than one manuscript to the competition as long as one manuscript or a portion thereof does not duplicate any material submitted in another manuscript. 
6. Current University of Pittsburgh employees and students, and former employees and students affiliated with the University within the last five years, are not eligible for the Prize. 
7. The winning submission will be offered a standard Prize publication contract, the terms of which are not subject to revision.  

Dates for Submission

Manuscripts must be received in July. That is, they must be submitted on or after July 1 and on or before July 31. The winner and finalists will typically be notified by the end of the calendar year.

Submission Instructions

Each manuscript must be accompanied by a $25.00 fee, paid through Submittable at the time of your submission.   All manuscripts must be submitted online at our Submittable contest site.

1. Manuscripts must be double-spaced and pages must be numbered consecutively. 
2. Each submission must include a list of all of the writer’s published short fiction work, with full citations. You will be given an opportunity to enter this information into a field in Submittable. 
3. Manuscripts will be judged anonymously. Therefore, the author’s name, other identifying information, and publication information must not appear within the manuscript. This is to ensure that only anonymous manuscripts are visible to the judges. Failure to strictly adhere to this rule is grounds to remove your manuscript from consideration for the Prize. 

Each year, the winner and finalists will be announced via press release by the end of the January following the submission period. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email eomalley@upress.pitt.edu.

Cuban Studies Submission Guidelines

The University of Pittsburgh Press welcomes submissions to Cuban Studies. Manuscripts in English and Spanish may be submitted. Maximum length is 10,000 words, including notes and illustrations. Please include an abstract of the article both in English and Spanish of no more than 200 words. Also include a short biographical paragraph of no more than 3 sentences. We prefer Chicago style (17th edition), but MLA style is also acceptable. Cuban Studies takes no responsibility for views or information presented in signed articles.

 Dossiers should be comprised of an introductory essay and 3 to 6 essays. Each essay should have a maximum length of 9,000 words, including notes and illustrations. The articles of the dossiers should read as a whole and avoid repetition and overlaps between them. Dossiers should have a designated organizer who will be the mediator between Cuban Studies and the authors of the dossier. We prefer Chicago style (17th edition), but MLA style is also acceptable. All articles in the dossier should use one of these styles consistently. Please include an abstract of the dossier of no more than 200 words, both in English and Spanish. Also include a short biographical paragraph of no more than 3 sentences of the participating authors. 

 For additional editorial inquiries, contact us by email at cubanstudies@upress.pitt.edu.