The Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Awards Submissions for 2013 Books

Just a reminder: Submissions to the Peacemaker Awards are open until midnight January 31, 2014.

Qualifications: Copyright dates must be between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013. To be submitted in the Best Western Novel category, works must have been published by a reputable publisher that pays advances and/or royalties. Proof of the viability of the publisher is the submitter’s responsibility and must be provided on request. Publishers that cannot be verified to meet the above standards will not be considered for a WF Peacemaker Award in the Best Western Novel category. Books and short stories may be published in any country in the world (submissions must be in English) in print or electronic format. Electronic submissions must be made with Word or PDF files. WF reserves the right to decline any submission for consideration of an Award.

Authors, agents, or publishers may submit a work for consideration of an Award. 

At least three entrants in the Best Western First Novel must be received during the submission period for an Award to be presented.

Novels and short stories must be set in the time period between 1830-1920 to be considered Westerns under WF guidelines.  

Nominees for the WF Peacemaker Award will be announced on 04/15/2014 and the winners will be announced on 06/01/2014.

The WF Peacemaker Award will be awarded in four categories:

Best Western Novel – Any novel published during the award year set in the appropriate time period (1830-1920), 30,000 words and higher. There are no format requirements. The novel may be a hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, or eBook, as long it has been published by an appropriate publisher. 

Best Independently Published Western Novel  – Any self-published novel published during the award year set in the appropriate time period (1830-1920), 30,000 words and higher. There are no format requirements. The novel may be a hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, or eBook. 

Best Western Short Fiction – Any short story, novelette, or novella published during the award year set in the appropriate time period (1830-1920), 500 words to 29,999 words. There are no format requirements.The short story may be published in any publication, print or electronic, and can be self-published. 

Best Western First Novel – Must meet the same requirements as Best Novel or Best Independently Published Novel, and must be the author’s first published Western novel. If the author has published novels in any other genre they will not disqualify the author from the Best Western First Novel Award competition. Submissions for Best Western First Novel may also be submitted in the appropriate Best Novel category in the same year.

Procedures: If in print form, one copy of the work must be sent to each judge (3 per category), accompanied with the appropriate form. One copy of the work should be sent with the appropriate form to the Awards Chair, along with an emailed electronic version of the work in Word or PDF format. If a work was published only as an eBook, an electronic version should be emailed to the Awards Chair. The electronic submissions will be distributed to the judges by the Awards Chair. All entries must be postmarked by January 31, 2014, or received by email by midnight, CST, January 31, 2014. Judges should not be contacted by any entrant concerning their entry during the consideration period. Doing so may result in disqualification of eligibility for the WF Peacemaker Award. Works submitted will not be returned after the awards have been announced. There is no fee to enter. There will be no exceptions made to the submission procedures, for any reason.  

You can find information about how to submit on the Western Fictioneers website.