The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing

• For an outstanding debut literary work by a first-generation immigrant

• Winner receives $10,000 and publication by Restless Books

• To be awarded for fiction and nonfiction in alternating years

• Submissions for the 2019 Prize in Nonfiction are open from September 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019 

• The winner of the 2018 Prize in Fiction is Priyanka A. Champaneri for her novel The City of Good Death. Read more here.

• The winner of the 2017 Prize in Nonfiction is Grace Talusan for her memoir The Body Papers. Read more here. 

• The 2016 winner is Deepak Unnikrishnan for his novel Temporary People. Read more here.

introduction

The ethos of the modern world  is defined by immigrants. Their stories have always been an essential component of our cultural consciousness, from Isaac Bashevis Singer to Isabel Allende, from Milan Kundera  to Maxine Hong Kingston. In novels, short stories, memoirs, and works of journalism, immigrants have shown us what resilience and dedication we’re capable of, and have expanded our sense of what it means to be global citizens. In these times of intense xenophobia, it is more important than ever that these boundary-crossing stories reach the broadest possible audience.

With that in mind, we are proud to present The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing. We are looking for extraordinary unpublished submissions from emerging writers of sharp, culture-straddling writing that addresses identity in a global age. Each year, a distinguished panel of judges will select a winning manuscript to be published by Restless Books. We can’t wait to read and share what the new voices of the world have to say.

—Ilan Stavans, Publisher

Click here for details.

KJ