Please carefully review these guidelines before submitting a nomination. Please note that you must have a Submittable account prior to filling out the nomination form. You may create a free account here.
Nomination Fee
$65 per nomination
Deadline
Monday, February 17, 2025 @ 11:59 p.m. EST.
Eligibility
- Books and chapbooks published within the 2024 calendar year (January 1 to December 31). Reprints and second editions are not eligible.
- Books will not be considered nominated if any of these guidelines are not met and materials and payment are not postmarked by February 17, 2025.
Required Materials
The following required materials must be received by February 17, 2025 (postmarked).
- Nomination form;
- $65 nomination fee;
- A digital copy of the book (strongly preferred; if digital copy is not available, please see instructions on form).
Definition of a Georgia Author for the 61st GAYA
To be considered a Georgia author and thus eligible for nomination for GAYA, an author must meet one of the following criteria:
- The author must have been a resident of Georgia when the nominated book was written, though they may have since moved out of state; or
- The author must currently live in Georgia when the book is nominated.
Definitions of GAYA Categories for the 61st GAYA
A book may be nominated in only one category and is selected by the nominator.
Categories:
- Fiction (subcategories)
- First Novel—First published novel by a single author (any genre)
- Literary Novel—A non-genre novel by a single author
- Short Story Collection—A collection of short stories by a single author
- Detective/Mystery—A novel by a single author featuring a crime or crimes
- Romance—A novel by a single author intended for the mass-market and involving a primary focus on relationships
- Science Fiction/Fantasy— A novel by a single author that is grounded in the science or technology of the future, and/or fantastical elements.
- Graphic Novel—A narrative work where the story is told not only through words, but also sequential art and can be fiction or nonfiction
- Nonfiction (subcategories)
- Biography—A life history that is a fact-based, referenced life story of a person, a group of people, or a family; category does not include autobiography, which should be nominated under memoir
- History—Research-based books which use narratives to examine and analyze past events
- Inspirational—Books on topics in self-help, life improvement, motivational, religious, or spiritual
- Memoir—A book that is an account of one’s personal life and experiences
- Essay Collection—A collection by a single author that sustains a single topic or theme. It may not be an anthology of essays by multiple authors
- Poetry (subcategories)
- Chapbook—By a single poet and generally no more than 40 pages
- Full-Length Book—By a single poet
- Children’s Book—Books written for ages 9 and younger, including picture books, fiction or nonfiction
- Young Adult—Books written for ages 10 and older and are either fiction or nonfiction
- Cookbook/Culinary—Books that contain a collection of recipes, techniques, or focus on the exploration of food, cooking, and culture of food
- Specialty Book—Anthologies of poetry, creative non-fiction, and fiction, and books that include a visual element such as art or photography
In the Event a Category Has Fewer than Four Nominees
If a category has fewer than four nominees, authors will have the opportunity to move their books to the next best category. For example, if there are only two books in the Cookbook category, authors will be notified and may choose to place the book in the Specialty Book category.
In the Event an Award Is Not Made in a Category
Georgia Writers Association reserves the right to not award a winner in a category if it is determined that none of the nominations should win. If no winner is selected due to a lack of sufficient nominations in a category, the nomination fee will be refunded. However, if the category judge determines that a category has no first– or second–place winner, the nomination fee will not be refunded.
Breach of Eligibility
If authors are no longer residents of Georgia, they may be asked to provide proof that their book was written or published while living in the state of Georgia. In the event an author is determined to be GAYA-ineligible, the author will be disqualified, and the nomination fee will not be refunded.
We Believe That Anyone Can Be a Storyteller.
About our Publication
- Waymark Literary Magazine is a fully online magazine in html format. We publish fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and art.
- Waymark accepts submissions from undergraduate students from North America (Canada, Mexico, North America) and its affiliated territories. Work submitted by students residing outside of North America or work from non-undergraduate students will not be considered for publication.
About Our Issues
- Waymark publishes two issues every academic year, one per semester. The deadline for submissions for the Fall/Winter '24 issue is December 3, 2024.
- Submissions for our Winter/Spring '25 issue open December 4, 2024 and close on May 2, 2025.
- Due to the holiday season, Waymark's submission review process will be suspended until early January. No decisions on submitted pieces will be released until January.
- The theme for Waymark's Winter/Spring '25 issue will be released in early January 2025. While submitting to the theme is greatly encouraged, it is not required.
Submission Guidelines
- All pieces should be submitted with adherence to MLA formatting: 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, double-spaced, page numbers in the top-left.
- Waymark does not publish erotica or fan fiction of any kind. We reject works with excessive violence, hate speech, and unnecessary gore.
- All submitted works should be self-contained stories that are not parts of larger works. Waymark does not publish chapters of books or book excerpts.
- To see our guidelines for specific genres, please check out our website: https://waymarkmagazine.com/submission-guidelines/
The winner of The Headlight Review’s 2025 Poetry Chapbook Prize Contest will receive publication (a perfect bound book with a full color or black/white cover), an award of $500, and 25 copies of the book.
Submissions will be open from October 1st to December 31st, 2024.
A list of finalists will be announced sixty days after the close of submissions. All manuscripts will be judged blindly.
The finalists who make it through the first round will be judged by esteemed poet Olatunde Osinaike. Originally from the West Side of Chicago, Olatunde Osinaike is a Nigerian-American poet, essayist, and software developer. Selected in 2024 as the Georgia Author of the Year in Poetry, he is the author of Tender Headed (Akashic Books), winner of the 2022 National Poetry Series, shortlisted for the Society of Midland Authors Award in Poetry and Nossrat Yassini Poetry Prize. He is also author of the limited edition chapbooks Speech Therapy (TAR) and The New Knew (Thirty West). Other honors include winner of the Lucille Clifton Poetry Prize and Frontier Industry Prize, semifinalist for the Discovery Poetry Prize, and honorable mention for the Ploughshares Emerging Writer's Award in Poetry. His work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Literary Hub, The Slowdown, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, Best New Poets, 20.35 Africa, New Poetry from the Midwest, Obsidian, Wildness, and elsewhere. He lives in Atlanta and would like to thank you.
The winning manuscript will be published within six months after the results of the competition are announced in April of 2025. Each judge’s favorite poem from their selected finalist will be highlighted at The Headlight Review.
Guidelines:
Eligibility: Employees and students at Kennesaw State University, both former and current, are not eligible to enter. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age or older.
Electronic submissions: The $18 entry fee is payable by debit/credit card via the KSU submission system, which you may find at the “Submit Your Manuscript” button at the bottom of this page.
Manuscript submission details:
- Size: Manuscripts must be between 24-36 pages, including cover page, table of contents and any acknowledgements.
- Format: 12 pt. standard typeface, PDF only.
- Title page: Should include the title of the manuscript and nothing else. No. identifying name or address is permitted in the manuscript.
- Poems: Poems that have been published elsewhere must be acknowledged. Overall, the manuscript should be original and previously unpublished.
- Multiple submissions: Are acceptable. Each submission requires a separate entry fee.
- Simultaneous submissions: Are acceptable. Please inform us immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. Entry fees are nonrefundable.
- Language: Entries must be written in the English language.
- Illustrations: Are discouraged.
- Translations: Are ineligible.
- Comments: Will not be provided to non-winning entrants.
- Editing: Will not be permitted once submitted.
Kennesaw State’s MA in Professional Writing Program (MAPW) endorses and abides by the Ethical Guidelines of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). Our system for judging is transparent and blind. The first-round judges will receive and rate their choices in order, and this will create a list of finalists. The manuscript finalists will go to the finalist judge, who will then select the best among the finalists.
This form should be filled out by the sponsoring organization after the event has taken place.
The event director is to complete this form within 15 days of the completion of the event. Sponsors are required to submit all promotional materials along with this form, including screenshots of webpages and e-mails, that highlight the logos of the Georgia Writers Association, the Georgia Council for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Proof of verbal acknowledgement made at the event must be submitted if there are no written promotional materials.
- This form should be filled out by the writer after the event has taken place and within 15 days of the completion of the event.
- Please cash your check within 90 days of issuance.
- If there are any discrepencies between the amount you agreed to be paid for the even and the actual amount of the check, please contact Terri Dudenhoeffer at terri@georgiawriters.org