by Margaret Bauer, Editor
With NCLR’s third year managing the North Carolina Book Awards (almost) under our belts—books are out to judges, so we still have work to do before the big celebration—I thought I’d answer some questions that have come up in the course of this contest and share some thoughts about submitting to contests in general.
[Takes editor hat off, puts on professor hat.]
I’ll start with the advice I give at every workshop I give on submitting your work to literary magazines and contests: read the directions. I would say that almost* every question I’ve ever received about submitting, whether to one of the contests we manage for the creative writing we publish in NCLR or since we’ve taken over the North Carolina Book Awards is answered in the guidelines. I know this because I always doublecheck to make certain.
*In the rare case that I receive a question not covered by the guidelines, I consult with the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association President (in the case of the NC Book Awards) or my fellow editors for NCLR submissions and, if it is a question that may apply to other cases, after determining an answer, add it to the guidelines.
[Puts editor hat back on.]
Regarding the book awards. These awards are hosted by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. The Raleigh Award is sponsored by the Historical Book Club of North Carolina and the Young People’s Literature Award by the AAUW of North Carolina. We follow the guidelines these organizations passed on to us.
Can you nominate a book if you grew up in North Carolina, but haven’t lived here since? After all, the book in question is set here. The answer is still no. The guidelines read, “Its author(s) must have maintained legal or physical residence, or a combination of both, in North Carolina for the three years preceding the close of the contest period.” Yes, this means even National Book Award winning poet A.R. Ammons, perhaps Eastern North Carolina’s most globally famous poet, never received the Roanoke Chowan Poetry Award.
A related recent issue that has emerged (and is now included in our guidelines for clarity) is regarding edited collections of essays and edited anthologies. In these cases, all writers, not just the editor, must have the North Carolina residence.
I will say here that although non-residents cannot be nominated for an NC Book Award NCLR does review books by NC writers whether they live in NC or not. Fill out the form for submitting a title for review consideration.
“Self- and subsidy-published works will only be considered for the Young People’s Literature award.” This year, that particular bullet point in our guidelines is the one I had to quote the most often. We mean no disrespect to the people who publish their books with publishers who help you edit and publish your book manuscripts, for a price. We know that you worked hard writing your story, too, and then working with your printer’s copyeditors to prepare it for binding. So why are these books not allowed in the contests? The answer is really simple: we are a small staff with a lot of work to do, and before we took over, the same could be said for my predecessors in the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources who managed the book awards. We also have a limited budget, and these books have to be mailed to three different judges. These judges volunteer their time reading dozens of books. This year we broke records in all of the contests: 29 nominations for the Sir Walter Raleigh Award in Fiction, 24 for the Roanoke Chowan Poetry Award, 27 for the Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction, and 12 for the AAUW of North Carolina Young People’s Literature Award. That is a lot of books to read over the summer. After almost 30 years as editor of NCLR, I can tell you that North Carolina is a prolific state. The common saying is, if you throw a rock in North Carolina, chances are you will hit a writer. (Please don’t throw rocks. They’re some really great people.) Those dozens could easily double. So we have limited nominations to books that have already been vetted. Editors and editorial boards have invested in these books. Of course, there are some gems out there that have been self-published, and there are contests for those, contests that charge a fee to submit and, I imagine, use those fees to pay expenses. Publishers and writers are not charged to nominate their books to the North Carolina Book Awards. Judges are not paid to read them.
Relatedly, this is why NCLR does not review books that have not undergone editorial review board screening. There are simply too many books to review. We have to draw a line somewhere as we endeavor to review as many as possible (we’re managing more than a book a week now for multiple years in a row now!).
Note that in both cases—the North Carolina Book Awards and books reviewed in NCLR: we do not distinguish between small, independent presses and the Big 5. Right here in North Carolina, there are several excellent publishers whose books have received these awards—and NCLR has reviewed probably more independent and university press books than books published by large commercial presses.
An exception that allows self-published books has been made for the Young People’s Literature Award because it receives significantly fewer nominations, and, though this isn’t my area of expertise, I’m told that there are some difficulties breaking into the publishing market for these books, leading to more self-publishing in this genre. For now, we do accept self-published nominations of children’s and YA literature. I will note, however, that the winners in my memory have not been self-published. Which is another reason we don’t take self-published in the other genres. We know you have a limited number of copies, and if your book is not going to compete, we don’t want you to waste three submitting to this contest when there are other contests that will better serve you.
Such is why we don’t take chapbooks for the Roanoke-Chowan Poetry Award. With so many full-length collections, a chapbook is less likely to be competitive, and we don’t want you to give away three of your copies in such a case.
I’ll wrap this up by asking all who participate in this project to consider joining the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. Your membership supports such important projects as these awards, as well as both NCLR and the North Carolina Historical Review. Indeed, members receive both of these journals as part of their membership benefits. And writers, Lit & Hist members are allowed more submissions in NCLR’s poetry and nonfiction writing contests, which have no additional submission fee. Writers simply must be subscribers OR Lit & Hist members.
It is a privilege and a pleasure to manage the prestigious North Carolina Book Awards for “Lit & Hist” and the other sponsoring organizations. Mark your calendars for the 2026 Book Awards ceremony: Friday, December 4, in Raleigh. Join us in Raleigh when we celebrate the winning authors and finalists for these contests. AND hear this year’s Sparrow Keynote Address by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle.