The Sargent Prize
The submission period is now closed for the third annual John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize. This annual award was created in 2006 to honor the best first novel of the year and carries with it a $10,000 prize.
The shortlist for the award will be announced in September 2008 and the prize will be given at the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction’s Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner in the fall.
The Sargent Prize was created by the Center as part of its mission to promote the art of fiction in the United States. It is supported by members of the Sargent family, in recognition of John Sargent, Sr.’s lifetime of reading and distinguished work as President and CEO of Doubleday and Company.
Submission process
Any U. S. publisher may enter books published between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. We prefer that these are submitted as finished copies, if available. Proofs, bound galleys, and bound, edited manuscripts are also acceptable.
An entry form and a $50 entry fee must be submitted for each title entered in the competition. You may apply and pay online or you may send both directly to:
The John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize
The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction
17 East 47th Street
New York, NY 10017
Small, independent publishers may apply for a fee waiver; please contact us at kristin@mercantilelibrary.org or call 212-755-6710 for more information.
All entry forms and books must be postmarked no later than March 31, 2008; however we urge you to send your entries as soon as possible. Entry forms and books may be sent separately. The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction must receive five copies of each book, bound galley, or bound, edited manuscript entered in the competition.
Publishers are urged not to hold submissions until the last possible date, but to send books, bound galleys, or bound, edited manuscripts AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE.
Eligibility
Only first-time novelists who are American citizens or permanent residents are eligible for this award.
Only full-length first novels written in English are eligible. Novellas, collections of short stories, and YA novels whether related or unrelated, are NOT eligible.
Only books published for the first time in the United States between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008 are eligible.
Books previously published elsewhere are NOT eligible.
Self-published books and eBooks are NOT eligible.
There is no limit on the number of books entered by each publisher, provided each one complies with the rules.
In the event of a dispute as to eligibility, the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction will decide whether a book is eligible, and its decision will be binding.
Any books entered for the Awards process by the publishers that are subsequently determined to be ineligible still shall be subject to the stated entry fee of $50 per title.
The panel also may request titles that have not been submitted by publishers. Publishers are then asked by the Merc to submit these titles for consideration and the entry fee will be waived.
Selection process
The selection of the shortlist and winning novel is determined through a two-tiered process. Submissions are first read by librarians, staff and members of the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction, and the recommendations of these Common Readers, as they are called, are then forwarded to a committee of distinguished American writers. From those recommended novels our panel of judges chooses the shortlist and the winner.
Additional conditions of the award
Publishers of the winning and shortlisted books must agree:
A. To indicate that the book is a finalist or winner of the John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize by including the Sargent medallion on future editions.
B. To inform authors of entered books that if chosen for the shortlist they must be present at the Center for Fiction’s Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner in New York City in the fall.
C. To inform authors that, if shortlisted, they must agree to participate in the Library’s related publicity, including reading at the Merc.
D. The recipient of the Award must agree to allow his/her acceptance speech to be published by the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction on its website, to be podcast there, and to be published in the Library newsletter and in a future anthology of award winners’ speeches and interviews.
Download an Application:
Microsoft Word Format
previous winners and shortlisted authors
Junot Diaz, winner of the 2007
John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize