The PEN Open Book Award, formerly the Beyond Margins Awards, invites submissions of book-length writings by authors of color, published in the United States during the current calendar year. The Open Book Award was created by PEN American Center’s Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities. The award confers a $5,000 prize upon an author of color. U.S. residency or citizenship is not required. Works of fiction, literary nonfiction, biography/memoir, poetry, and other works of literary character are strongly preferred.

Past winners: Laila Halaby, Suki Kim, Nasdijj, Willie Perdomo, April Reynolds, Meena Alexander, Luis Francia, Joy Harjo, Victor LaValle, Nelly Rosario, Faith Adiele, Raquel Cepeda, Lan Samantha Chang, Lolita Hernandez, Ishle Yi Park, Richard Blanco, Andrew Lam, Ed-Bok Lee, Caryl Phillips, Jennifer Tseng, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ernest Hardy, Harryette Mullen, Alberto Ríos, and Manu Joseph.

Deadline
Submissions must be received between October 1, 2011 and February 1, 2012.

Who is eligible:
The PEN Open Book Award is open to authors of color who have not received wide media coverage. To be eligible, a candidate's work must have been published in the United States between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. Self-published books are not eligibile. Submissions will be accepted from publishers and agents only, and must be accompanied by an official letter of recommendation.

How to Apply:
1) Pay the $50 entry fee online. If paying by check, skip to step 2.

2) Fill out the online submission form and click “Submit Form.”

3) Mail three copies of the candidate’s book with an official letter of recommendation, your printed submission form, and proof of online payment or a check to:

PEN Open Book Award
PEN American Center
588 Broadway, Suite 303
New York, NY 10012

Pay the $50 entry fee online, or mail in payment with your submission. Submission fees may be waived for publishers whose annual net sales are less than $4 million. Please contact PEN if you wish to find out more.

For more information, please contact awards@pen.org or (212) 334-1660,  ext. 126.