Many Voices Project

Note: the Many Voices Project is on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

The Many Voices Project is the distinguished annual competition (since 1981) to find full-length manuscripts from new and emerging writers. (An emerging writer has not published more than two books of creative writing with a commercial, university, or national small press within the selected genre.)

The yearly submission period for the MVP Competition is September 1 – December 31. There is a $25 entry fee. Finalists are typically announced by May of the year following the close of the submission window. The winners are usually announced later that summer. The winning title will be published in fall the following year by New Rivers Press and distributed nationally by Small Press Distribution. The winning author will receive a $1,000 honorarium, a standard book contract, and fifteen complimentary copies of the final book.

Submission Guidelines

Submit using Submittable and pay the $25 entry fee between September 1 and December 31. Do not include a cover sheet in the manuscript itself.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but notify NRP immediately of acceptance elsewhere. If you fail to give such notification and your manuscript is selected, your entry gives NRP permission to proceed with publication.

Note: In an effort to be more green, New Rivers Press will no longer be accepting paper submissions for the Many Voices Project. 

  • You may acknowledge individual poems, stories, and other pieces published in magazines, anthologies, or elsewhere, but such acknowledgments or your name cannot appear in the manuscript itself, since judging is blind.
  • You may submit more than one manuscript, but only if there is NO overlap in content.
  • Manuscript pages must be numbered.
  • DO NOT include your name, address, or acknowledgments on the manuscript pages; the judging is blind.
  • All of the material included in your submission must be of your own composition and free from copyright restrictions. Should you win the competition, you will be responsible for securing releases.

Fiction & Creative Nonfiction Specs

  • Any writer writing in English is eligible.
  • Double-Spaced
  • Manuscript length:
    • Collections of short stories and/or novellas are personal essays: 100–200 pages.
    • Novels and memoirs: up to 400 pages.

Poetry Specs

  • Any writer in English is eligible.
  • Single-spaced.
  • No more than one poem per page.
  • Manuscript length: 50–90 pages.

Submit Your Manuscript

MVP submissions accepted September 1–December 31