Rakuten Kobo announced it is now accepting submissions for its third annual Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. The prize identifies, and puts at the forefront of the competitive publishing industry, exceptional books written by first-time authors from three categories: Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction (this year Speculative Fiction; a different genre is showcased each year), and Non-Fiction. Each winning author will be awarded a $10,000 CAD cash prize as well as promotional, marketing, and communications support, with the winners announced in June.
“We must always remember that before Munro was Munro, or Atwood was Atwood, they were first-time writers in search of readers. New writers are essential if we wish to continue to have a vital and compelling literary culture,” said Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo. “We focus on debut writers because breaking through with a new book can be difficult in the world of online sales, where factors such as sales history and click-through rates directly affect its discoverability. As such, with this prize we complement the monetary award with promotional support to help find more readers and new audiences for the winning titles.”
This year, the final winners will be selected by top Canadian authors – Zoe Whittall for Literary Fiction, Kelley Armstrong for Speculative Fiction, and Ross King for Non-Fiction. They will choose from a shortlist determined by Kobo’s team of booksellers taking into account reading data.
Submissions will be accepted at www.kobo.com/emergingwriter until March 3 for debut books published in 2016 by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada, in any of three categories. Submissions can be made by publishers or directly by authors. Traditionally published and self-published books are eligible for submission.
To explore the winning titles of the 2016 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, please visit: https://www.kobo.com/emergingwriterprize
(Photo: Rakuten Kobo)