2025 First Novel Prize — Eligibility, Selection Process & More

The submission window for The Center for Fiction 2025 First Novel Prize opened on January 14, 2025 and closes on March 14, 2025. The award will be given to a debut novel published in the United States between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025. This year’s longlist will be announced in the summer, followed by the shortlist announcement in the fall. The winner is announced in December at our Annual Awards Benefit.

The First Novel Prize, first awarded in 2006, was created to honor the best debut fiction of the year. The winner receives a $15,000 prize, with each shortlisted author receiving $1,000. Last year’s First Novel Prize was awarded to Joseph Earl Thomas for God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer (Hachette Book Group / Grand Central Publishing).

All entry forms and books must be postmarked no later than March 14, 2025. Entry forms and books may be sent separately.

Guidelines  |  Entry Form  |  Pay Entry Fee

Eligibility

• Only first-time novelists who are American citizens or permanent residents are eligible for this award. Authors who have previously published novels in other countries are NOT eligible, even if the book in question is their first to be published in the U.S.
• Only full-length first novels written in English are eligible.  Novellas, collections of short stories, whether related or unrelated, and YA novels are NOT eligible.
• Novels in ALL genres are welcome.
• Only books published for the first time in the United States between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025 are eligible. We prefer that these be submitted as finished copies, if available. Bound galleys and bound, edited manuscripts are also acceptable.
• All submissions must be postmarked by March 14, 2025.
              ATTN: Nicole Caplain Kelly
              The First Novel Prize
              The Center for Fiction
              15 Lafayette Avenue
              Brooklyn, NY 11217
• Books previously published elsewhere are NOT eligible. This includes self-publishing the book previously.
• Self-published books and eBook only editions are NOT eligible.
• There is no limit on the number of books entered by each publisher, provided each submission complies with the rules as above.
• In the event of a dispute as to eligibility, The Center for Fiction will decide whether a book is eligible, and its decision will be binding.

Selection Process

Carefully selected members of The Center’s network, including writers, librarians, booksellers, staff, and members and friends of The Center for Fiction, will act as first-tier readers. The longlist recommended by these readers is then forwarded to a committee of distinguished American writers. From those recommended novels, our panel of judges chooses the shortlist and the winner. (Our judges in 2024 were Merve Emre, Raven Leilani, Jonathan Lethem, and Tyriek White.)

Medallions

The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize medallions are available for the covers of winning, shortlisted, and longlisted titles. Questions? Please contact Matt Kafoury, Art Director, at [email protected] for more information.