Catholic Writers' Guild Catholic Arts and Letters Award

Are you a Catholic Fiction writer or know someone who is? I encourage you to submit your novel for consideration in the Catholic Arts and Letters Award sponsored by the Catholic Writers' Guild.

Catholic Arts and Letters Award
Official Rules


The CALA award shall be awarded for works of fiction in which judges find exemplary literary merit. All submissions must first be awarded the Catholic Seal of Approval to guarantee that content does not disregard Catholic doctrine. (Submission for the SoA is under separate committee jurisdiction and may be found at the Catholic Writers Guild website.)

The CALA shall be awarded at the CWG conference/CMN tradeshow each year for books published in the previous calendar year, and bearing a copyright date for that year.

One book in each category will be awarded when there are at least five books in a category, and the judges deem that at least one book in its specified category is worthy of the award based on scoring criteria. The award committee and judges reserve the right to not offer the award if it is determined there is not an award-worthy book entered.

Books must be original and presented in book form. Neither reprints nor abridgements are eligible. Retellings of traditional stories and scripture may be considered if the presentation is original, but the books must be by contemporary living novelists. (Awards may be given posthumously if the author passed away during the year in which the book was published or thereafter.)

Co-authored books are eligible.

Only full-length print books, in the form of hardcover or bound paperback, will be considered. No e-books at this time, but those may be considered next year.

All submissions must be published in North America in English.

Books may be submitted between April 1st and December 31st of the year in which the book is published. Books should be submitted in finished form, not galley presentation.

All entries require a $60 non-refundable entry fee (in US dollars, checks drawn on a US bank) and five copies of the published work. For each winning title, the publisher must also agree to participate in the promotion of the work to the media. The CWG and the CALA committee shall have the right to promote all entries without further written or verbal permission of the author or publisher, and without compensation to author and/or publisher, through all media outlets, including but not limited to radio, television, print and internet venues. In addition, photos and videos of the author, publisher, and the work may be used for promotion through any media, including the CALA and CWG websites. Furthermore, entry means that the publisher and/or author agree to pay for copies of the seal, and must agree to affix the seal to the winning entry at their own expense. (A digital copy of the seal will be available free of charge for printing on covers.)

Prize shall consist of a trophy for each category. No monetary prizes will be awarded.

Winners, or a representative for the winner, must be present at the award ceremony, which will be held during the CWG conference/CMN trade show.


Categories:


The CALA is an award for outstanding FICTION, and will be awarded based on literary merit.

Because the CALA is a new award, this fledgling year may be limited to one award, unless there are sufficient entries to justify additional awards as described below. However, all books will be judged according to genre guidelines even if only one is offered, and therefore genre should be designated on the entry form.

Each sub-category must have at least five entries to stand alone.

Historical Fiction Award:
This category includes all historical stories from biblical through mid-1900’s, including historical romance. This category may be divided into additional sub-genres when there are five or more submissions in that sub-genre. All remaining entries will be grouped together for a single award in the general Historical Award. Genre is to be designated by author/publisher on the application. Separation into such categories will be at the discretion of the committee based on number of submissions as of January 1st of the judging year.
Scoring will take into account which sub-genre, style and setting is used.
• Young Adult fiction—includes all sub-categories, intended to reach teen readers through age twenty.
• Romance—stories in which the romantic intrigue is the primary focus. Includes dramatic romantic plots (excluding historicals—see above). Includes titles that are light in tone and theme.
• Suspense—mystery, adventure and thriller stories where terror, the unknown, or solving a crime are the main focus of the plot.
• Biblical—General fiction of Biblical times.

Contemporary Fiction Award:
This category may be divided into additional sub-genres when there are five or more submissions in that sub-genre. All remaining entries will be grouped together for a single award in the general Contemporary award. Genre is to be designated by author/publisher on the application. Separation into such categories will be at the discretion of the committee based on number of submissions as of January 1st of the judging year.

• Young Adult fiction—includes all sub-categories, intended to reach teen readers through age twenty.
• Contemporary—stories dealing with contemporary issues set in modern times. (1960-present), excluding romance, unless there are too few romances for a separate category.
• Romance—contemporary stories in which the romantic intrigue is the primary focus. Includes dramatic romantic plots. Includes titles that are light in tone and theme.
• Suspense—mystery, adventure and thriller stories where terror, the unknown, or solving a crime are the main focus of the plot.
• Visionary—science fiction, futuristic, and fantasy titles. Any work in which the setting is outside the historical or contemporary known world. Stories may include high technology, magic or other unknown elements.

Children’s Fiction Award:
Children’s fiction, including picture books, early readers and middle readers. Illustrations and presentation will be considered in the scoring.

To find out more, please visit: Catholic Arts and Letters Award