The SFWP Literary Awards Program
The 2026 Awards Program has begun!
Keep an eye on our social media and newsletter for updates.
Find the 2025 winners and finalists right here!
See Past Winner Publications Below
Nikesha Elise Williams is the 2026 judge
Nikesha Elise Williams is the author of The Seven Daughters of Dupree. She's also a two-time Emmy award winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast. A narrative strategist by day and journalist always, her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Bitter Southerner, Essence, and Vox. Nikesha’s work has been supported by the Kimbilio Fiction Fellowship, the DeGroot Foundation, and the Tin House Summer Workshop. A Chicago native, she lives in Florida with her family.
Learn more here: newwrites.com
Details and Guidelines
The 2026 Literary Awards Program will run from July 13th, 2026-January 4th, 2027. We publish in English, but the contest is open to writers from anywhere in the world.
The grand prize will be $1500. Two runner ups will be selected, each receiving $500. A competitive publishing contract will be offered, but winners are not required to accept. The prize amount will be paid out regardless.
The deadline is January 4th, 2027
There is a $35 reading fee, with a $25 early bird fee through September 1st.
We are seeking fiction and creative nonfiction of every genre. You do not have to be associated with Santa Fe or New Mexico. We have global distribution and publish authors from all around the world. Learn more about us right here.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Unpublished work, self-published work, and work from small or micro-presses that has not received marketing support will be eligible.
We are asking that all entries be submitted electronically. If you are unable to use Submittable, then please contact us for assistance.
If your manuscript is accepted for publication during the contest, it is still eligible. We are unable to refund the reading fee if you withdraw your entry.
We are offering an optional “pay it forward” program on the entry form. 100% of these funds will be used for authors who demonstrate that they cannot afford the entry fee.
First time here? What’s this all about?
Since 2000, the SFWP Literary Awards Program has recognized excellence in writing. More than 90% of our winners have gone on to publication. Please see below for a list of past judges and winners.
Full List of Past Winners (linked titles have been published by SFWP)
2009: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Pagan Kennedy
Matthew Pitt – Listening for Life
Nicole Louise Reid – This One Last Thing
Adam Sturtevant – Ease Chest Tuck Hid Debt Art
2007: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Robert Olen Butler
Jacob Appel – Natural Selection
Genaro Smith – Dailies
Katherine Crawford – Deep Breathing Under Big Sky
2005: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Ayun Halliday
Anna Green – Brown Jesus
Michael Kardos – Mr. Marotta’s Ashes Have the Personality of a Grouchy Old Man and One Last Good Time
Jeff Fearnside – Making Love While Levitating Three Feet in the Air
2004: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Richard Currey
Bethany Harvey – Falling Rock
Joseph M. Schuster – A Saint in the Family
Whitney Purvis – Cuentitos Caoticos
2002: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Chris Offutt
Kenneth Cook – Last Call: The Texas Moon Stories
Cate McGowan – Thirty Men, Not One
Emily Raboteau – A Gesture of Belonging
W.A. Smith – Leaving and Girls, Past
2001: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Jayne Anne Phillips
Charlotte Gullick – By Way of Water
Kate Small – The B-Zone Open
Patricia Schaefer – Love Is Blue
Haruko Yamauchi – Witness
2000: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Richard Currey
Mary L. Tabor – The Burglar: Stories
Maureen P. Stanton – Laundry
Carson H Wu – Different Brothers
Ira Sukrungruang – A Normal Thai Son
2026: Fiction / Nonfiction
Judge: Nikesha Elise Williams
2025: Fiction / Nonfiction
Judge: Deesha Philyaw
Sudha Balagopal — Family Matters (publishing 2027)
Cara Lynn Albert — Worshiping the Sun (publishing 2027)
Terese Svoboda — Dot and Edward
Find the full list of 2025 finalists right here
2023: Fiction / Nonfiction
Judge: Deesha Philyaw
Melissa Llanes Brownlee– Bitter Over Sweet
Erica Kent – Black Dog
Mathew Goldberg – Night Watch
2022: Fiction / Nonfiction
Judge: Deesha Philyaw
Emma Smith-Stevens – Greyhounds
Rachel Zimmerman – The Good Suicide (Published as Us, After)
Kim McLarin – Crone-ish
2019: Fiction / Nonfiction
Judge: Carmen Maria Machado
Deborah Jackson Taffa – Kiva Song (Published as Whiskey Tender)
Lilly Dancyger – Negative Space
Joseph Holt – Golden Heart Parade
2017: Fiction / Nonfiction
Judge: Benjamin Percy
Wendy Fox –If the Ice Had Held
Doug Crandell – Tornado Season
Kate Wisel – Driving in Cars With Homeless Men
2015: Fiction / Nonfiction
Judge: Emily St. John Mandel
A.A. Balaskovits – Magic for Unlucky Girls
Elizabeth Horneber – Chinese Red
Lisa Reisman – 5 Months 10 Years 2 Hours
2013: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judges: David Morrell (fiction), Lee Gutkind (nonfiction)
Fiction winners:
April L. Ford — The Poor Children
Daniel Mueller — Nights I Dreamed of Hubert Humphrey
Stephen Eoannou — Muscle Cars
Nonfiction winners:
Annita Sawyer — Smoking Cigarettes, Eating Glass
Allen Gee — My Chinese America
Mary Quade — Ideal Uncertainties
2011: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Alan Cheuse
Lance Larsen — Seventeen Ways to Float
Angie Chuang — The Four Words for Home
Emily Stone — In Search of Chocola: Love, Chocolate, and Language in Guatemala
2010: Fiction/Nonfiction
Judge: Robert Olen Butler
Tara Laskowski –Black Diamond City
Nicole Louise Reid – A Purposeful Violence
W.A. Smith – Einstein’s Fiddle
“The SFWP Literary Prize launched my career and boosted my confidence as a writer. This is a contest all writers should enter. SFWP has the history of discovering the best writers and the business savvy to sell their books. It’s truly the best indie publisher in existence. ”
“I had already published two books when I submitted to the SFWP contest, and I did so because I admired their work. What I didn’t know then was how much support I would receive as an SFWP author. As a writer, it truly changed my career. I have always believed in the mission of small press, but SFWP elevated that experience and gave me exposure I would not have otherwise had.”
“Winning the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Award was the big break I’d been hoping for and working toward for a decade. SFWP is a truly excellent independent press, with the passion and industry know-how to set a book up for success.”
“Winning the Grand Prize for the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards Program launched the best year of my professional life. SFWP is a first class organization, one that actually uses its program to promote writers.”