2025 James Baker Hall Book Award Closes on June 30th

June 30th is quickly approaching, but there is still time to enter the 2025 James Baker Hall Book Award. In partnership with Accents Publishing, the award will recognize an unpublished collection of short stories by a Kentucky author. A Kentucky author is defined as someone who lives in Kentucky, has lived in Kentucky, has strong ties to Kentucky or whose work features a prominent Kentucky theme. The author of the winning manuscript will receive a $3000 award and the manuscript will be published the following year by Accents Publishing. Below are the details for submission:

Award: $3000 plus publication with the standard Accents Publishing contract.

Eligibility: Writers 18 or older. Current students of the judge, as well as personal friends and family may not submit.

Manuscript preparation: The submitted manuscript must be anonymous. The author's name should not appear anywhere in the text.

Deadline: Manuscripts can be submitted between April 1st and June 30th. Winner and finalists will be announced in the Fall.

Submission: Only electronic submissions will be considered. Email your anonymous manuscript to accents.publishing@gmail.com and include a brief bio in the body of the email.

Judging: Acclaimed author Toni Ann Johnson will be the final judge.

Fees: There is no submission fee.