LOOKOUT MTN., Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--April 3, 2006--Independent publisher Jefferson Press announced the launch of its first annual Jefferson Press "Prize for Best New Voice in Fiction," at the Chattanooga Festival of Writers, Saturday, April 1. The national contest runs through December 31, 2006, with the Grand Prize winner receiving a $5,000 cash award and book publishing contract with Jefferson Press.
"This contest was created, in part, because it is virtually impossible to break through with new fiction, much less get published," said Jefferson Press president David Magee. "We hope this contest will help stimulate new fiction-writing talent."
Being an author in his own right, Magee knows something about the struggle of bringing viable literary projects to the market. In his most recent book, Getting Published: How to Learn and Master the Business of Writing, Magee helps aspiring authors navigate the difficult path of taking a book from concept to market. "The Jefferson Press "Prize for Best New Voice in Fiction" is our way to find the right fictional work to take to the market and hopefully encouraging new talent," Magee added.
A recent fiction work published by Jefferson Press, Calling by Joe Samuel Starnes, was featured in Rain Taxi Review, The Charlotte Observer and the New Jersey Star-Ledger.
"We are hopeful this annual prize will be a launching pad for great new American writing talent," Magee said. In addition to the $5,000 Grand Prize, four finalists will also each receive a $500 cash prize.
Entries must be book-length works of fiction, including novels and short stories that have never been published before. A panel of notable industry professionals will select the prize winner from the five finalists. The Grand Prize will be announced in February, 2007, and awarded at the Chattanooga Conference on Southern Literature in Chattanooga, TN, in the spring of 2007.
Jefferson Press' recently released Traveling Literary America by B.J. Welborn and was featured in USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, the Saint Petersburg Times the Philadelphia Inquirer; and was the focus of the nationally syndicated radio show, Travel Today with Peter Greenberg.
Jefferson Press was founded by Magee in his hometown of Oxford, MS, and relocated to Lookout Mountain, TN near Chattanooga, in 2004. As a relatively small, independent publisher, Jefferson Press has focused primarily on non-fiction literary works of national importance and appeal but is looking to diversify its portfolio of literary works. Magee is also an author of several books, including Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan, Ford Tough and The John Deere Way.
For more information about the Jefferson Press Prize, including submission guidelines and a downloadable entry form, visit the following website: www.jeffersonpressprize.com.
