Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize

Since 1976, the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies and the Department of English at the University of Rochester have awarded the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction by an American woman.  The idea for the prize came out of the personal grief of the friends and family of a fine young editor who was killed in an automobile accident just as her career was beginning to achieve its promise of excellence. She was 30 years old, and those who knew her believed she would do much to further the causes of literature and women. Her family, her friends, and her professional associates in the publishing industry created the endowment from which the prize is bestowed, in memory of Janet Heidinger Kafka and the literary standards and personal ideals for which she stood.

How to Enter:

1. All entries must be submitted by publishers who wish to have the work of their authors that were published in the year 2014 considered. No self-published works or works from vanity presses will be accepted.
2. Entries must be submitted by February 1st , 2015, and the works must have been assembled for the first time. For collections of short stories: at least one-third of the material must have been previously unpublished before the release of the collection to be submitted.
3. Four copies of each entry should be submitted.
4. The $7,500 prize will be awarded annually to a woman who is a USA citizen, and who has written the best book-length work of prose fiction, whether novel, short stories, or experimental writing. Works written primarily for children and publications from private and vanity presses cannot be considered. We are particularly interested in calling attention to the work of a promising but less established writer.
5. Only under the most unusual circumstances will a writer be considered for a subsequent award within a ten-year span.
6. Please download the application form (PDF) and submit entries toUniversity of Rochester
   Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
   Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies
   538 Lattimore Hall
   RC Box 270434
   Rochester, NY 14627-4034