How to Apply

Submissions will be accepted between 8 a.m. central time Monday, January 15th and 8 p.m. central time Tuesday, February 20th, 2024.

Applicants must be Premium or Student members of SCBWI. Sign in and click “My Home” to check your status.
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age.
The winner of this award must follow SCBWI’s guidelines and policies while attending the conference.
Your original, unpublished manuscript should not be under contract at the time of submission. Should your manuscript become contracted, you must contact us and withdraw your submission for this year.
Previous winners of this award are ineligible. Previous recipients of an Honorable Mention may apply again, but you must submit a different story than the one that was honored.
Picture-book submissions are being accepted for the 2024 award year.

Please follow guidelines exactly. Incomplete or late submissions will not be considered.

Submit your application and manuscript via this form. Note: you must have a Google account to attach your manuscript to your application.
Use standard manuscript formatting: black, 12-point Times New Roman font; double spaced with 1-inch margins; page number on the top right; and title on the header of each page.
DO NOT include your name anywhere on the manuscript itself or it will be disqualified.
- Please note: Google adds the writer’s name to the PDF file name when it’s sent. We know about this and adjust file names accordingly before sending manuscripts off to the judges. We will not disqualify your submission because of this (as long as you don’t also add your name to the header in the document).
Submissions should be text only. Do not include any images.
Manuscript word count limit is 1000 words, including any art notes or back matter if you choose to include.
Do you share the lived experiences of the characters in your book? Please consider whether this is your story to tell.
PDFs only.
Ensure the title of your uploaded manuscript PDF matches the title listed on your application form.
Limit one entry per person.

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