2022-23 Judge: Isabel Quintero • DEADLINE: January 31, 2023
Isabel Quintero is an award-winning writer and the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She proudly lives and writes in the Inland Empire of Southern California. Isabel has authored: Gabi, A Girl in Pieces (Cinco Puntos Press), her first YA novel; the chapter books, Ugly Cat and Pablo (Scholastic, Inc.) and Ugly Cat and Pablo and the Missing Brother (Scholastic, Inc.); the graphic novel Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide (Getty Publications); and My Papi Has a Motorcycle (Kokila). Her work has been included in several anthologies including The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce and Come On In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home. Forthcoming from Kokila, Martinez Paranormal Services (MG trilogy), Golden State (YA novel), and Mama’s Panza (Picture Book), as well as a short story in the 2023 Candlewick anthology Ab(solutely) Normal: Short Stories that Smash Mental Health Stereotypes. In addition to several awards, her books have garnered many starred reviews and have been included in multiple best of lists including NPR’s yearly Book Concierge List, NYPL’s best of list, and the New York Times Best Books list. When she’s not writing she enjoys hiking, laughing, and cooking with her partner and beautiful child.
The Inlandia Institute is a literary nonprofit and publishing house based in Inland Southern California dedicated to celebrating the region in word, image, and sound.
The Eliud Martínez Prize was established to honor the memory of Eliud Martínez (1935–2020), artist, novelist, and professor emeritus of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. One prize of $1,000 and book publication through Inlandia Books will be awarded for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction by a writer who identifies as Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Chicana/o/x.
Our literary expression occupies a place within our American national literature, and among the literatures of the world.
—Eliud Martinez
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- Submissions accepted only from writers who identify as Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x, or Chicana/o/x.
- Manuscripts can be fiction or creative nonfiction, including memoir, essays, stories, and multi-genre or hybrid works.
- At this time, only submissions written primarily in English will be considered.
- Manuscripts must be submitted anonymously. Do not include any identifying information on the manuscript itself, in the file name, or headers/footers.
- Manuscripts can be under consideration by other publishers, but the winning writer must agree to withdraw their entry from consideration by other publishers. There will be no refunds of entry fees.
MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING
- 150 to 300 typed pages in 12-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, double-spaced, page numbering in upper-right corner.
- Submit as a PDF but have the full manuscript available as a Word document on request.
- Longer works of up to 500 pages may only be submitted in proposal form: excerpt, table of contents, and synopsis.
- All manuscripts must be complete to be considered. Do not submit works-in-progress.
ELIGIBILITY
- Any writer residing in the U.S. or its territories of Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x, or Chicana/o/x descent may enter the contest, with the exception of current colleagues and/or students, close friends, or family of the judge. Additionally, anyone currently serving in the Inlandia Institute in the last two years, either as an employee or on the Inlandia Institute Board of Directors, or is a close family member, is not eligible.
Inlandia Institute abides by the CLMP Contest Code of Ethics, as written by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses: “The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. Intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest.”