Campus News Society & Culture

University of Georgia Press announces new Loraine Williams Horizon Award

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Press announces the Loraine Williams Horizon Award for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture and Letters. The award honors Loraine Williams, an Atlanta-based philanthropist and patron of the arts.

Manuscripts considered for the Horizon Award may deal with any aspect of Georgia history, culture and letters. Manuscripts dealing with such cultural matters as literature and the arts are eligible, provided that in such cases the methodology is historical. Biographies of individuals whose careers illuminate aspects of the history of the state are eligible. The winning author receives a cash award of $500 and, after successful editorial review, a publication contract with UGA Press.

To compete for this award, manuscripts must emphasize research in primary and secondary sources and demonstrate a commitment to scholarly narrative writing that also appeals to more general readers.

Deadline for submissions is April 30. Award Submission Guidelines are:
• Telephone queries are not permitted.
• Fiction, poetry, memoirs and works of article length are not eligible.
• It is recommended that recently-defended dissertations be revised with publication in mind.
• Manuscripts must be postmarked by April 30.
• Manuscripts may be submitted in hard copy or digitally. Hard copies should be submitted in double-spaced, 12-point New Times Roman font; the physical address follows below. Online submissions will be accepted only through Submittable; manuscripts will not be accepted by email attachment.
• Manuscripts must be no shorter than 40,000 words and no longer than 90,000 words, including notes and ancillaries.
• All submissions should include a current curriculum vitae, an overview of the project, and the complete manuscript including all illustrations and supplementary materials. The overview (one to two pages) must address the scope, focus and purpose of the work, as well as a statement of the work’s thesis and conclusions, its place in the relevant historiography, and any new or underutilized primary source materials or innovative methodologies that shape it.
• Portions of submitted manuscripts may have appeared previously in journals or edited collections, but previously published monographs will not be considered.
• Manuscripts simultaneously submitted for publication consideration at other presses are not eligible for the award.
• By submitting to the competition the author warrants that he or she is allowing the University of Georgia Press the right of first refusal to publish the manuscript.
• Submissions that do not receive the Loraine Williams Horizon Award for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture and Letters may also be considered for book publication.
• Hard copies of manuscripts will not be returned and will be recycled after the competition.
• The prize is to be awarded annually; however, the press reserves the right to make no award in any given year.

The winning author will be contacted directly and the Loraine Williams Horizon Awards for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture and Letters will be announced in November 2014 at the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. The winning manuscript will be published in Fall 2015.

Scholars are urged to inform other authors of the opportunity. An award committee of three judges will select the winning manuscript. Do not call the press to check on submission status. The decision of the judges is final.

2014 Award Submission
Send hard copies of all of the materials called for Award Submission Guidelines to

The University of Georgia Press
ATTN: Loraine Williams Horizon Award for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture and Letters
Main Library, Third Floor
320 South Jackson Street
Athens, GA 30602

About the University of Georgia Press
Since its founding in 1938, the primary mission of UGA Press has been to support and enhance the University’s place as a major research institution by publishing outstanding works of scholarship and literature by scholars and writers throughout the world. UGA Press is the oldest and largest book publisher in the state, currently publishes 60-70 new books a year, and has a long history of publishing significant scholarship, creative and literary works, and books about the state and the region for general readers.