The $5,000 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing honors a nonfiction book about sports. Eligible titles should be of a biographical, investigative, historical, or analytical nature and of the strongest literary character.

The inaugural PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing honored A Terrible Splendor by Marshall Jon Fisher. The judges were Robert Lipsyte, Tim O'Brien, and Susan Orlean.

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

Who is eligible:
Eligible titles must have been published by a U.S. trade publisher between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. Candidates must be U.S. residents; American citizenship is not required. There are no restrictions on the candidate’s age or on the style of his or her work.

Submissions are welcome from any source: writers, editors, literary agents, or members of the literary community at large. One need not be a Member of PEN to submit. Self-published books are not eligible.

How to apply:
1) Pay the $50 entry fee online and proceed to checkout. 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, your printed submission form, and proof of online payment or a check between October 1, 2011 and February 1, 2012 to:

PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing
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.