Hi! We know this page has a lot of words, but please read it. It’s the most important page on our entire website.
Alternating Current gives out several annual writing awards, and each year, we couldn’t do it without the help of funders and supporters just like you. (Seriously, there’d be NO WAY we could do it; literature needs your support desperately.) We strive to pay each and every one of our contributors and to honor our writers clear down to the semifinalists, who are ALSO awesome and who ALSO receive publication! Our awards are sought-after and receive hundreds, often thousands, of submissions each year. We look for and value work that is nothing short of incredible and read all pieces blind so every author, regardless of any factor, has an equal chance at winning. When authors win awards, it can be life-changing and career-changing. Please help change an author’s life this year.
Our awards are funded by sponsors, companies, presses, individuals, and literary supporters just like you—YES, YOU! Our funders don’t just donate; you CHOOSE where the money goes, get to give the donation in memory/honor of someone, and get awesome publicity incentives, including free advertisements, social media plugs, and logos prominently featured. We get it. You want to be benefited and acknowledged, too, and we want to do that for you because we understand that these awards couldn’t survive without you.
The fun part is you don’t just ‘sort-of choose’ where the money goes—you get to claim your authors, from winners right down to every semifinalist, to help make sure they all get paid. And you get great perks, just for helping the indie literary community honor its fantastic authors. Please note that this does not fund our press; it funds our awards directly. Your money is going 100% directly to funding the authors for these awards; we ask only for the exact price of the award money and direct costs of the physical awards, so you know that all of it is going to deserving authors.
This Is a Two-Part Process:
First, there is A FORM that has all sorts of options from which you can choose for your incentives. It looks long, but you only need to fill in what applies to you and skip the rest. We recommend filling out the form or checking the perks chart at the bottom of this page first, in case it changes your mind about any of your options along the way.
Second, there is A PAYMENT button. Select which item suits you best from the list below, and claim your prize to pay via PayPal, credit/debit card, e-check, for donations up to $200; and through business check, cashiers check, money order, wire transfer, or bank check, for donations over $200. WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE CHECK PAYMENTS because we don’t incur additional losses from service fees. Once your payment is processed (in-house), the availability icon will adjust, and your name/dedication will be listed there instead. To pay via cash, check, transfer, or money order, fill out the form and fill in the appropriate box. General donations are obviously accepted, too, and as they accrue, we will adjust the appropriate availability icons for the amounts donated. If you want to donate monthly or annually, please select that option on the form, and we’ll get back to you.
Our awards are listed here from top to bottom in order of importance to authors and to the independent press. Please, if you can afford it, start at the top of the list and at the top of each award category, for those are the direst selections.
Can’t afford to give money, but have awesome non-monetary prizes, such as residencies, workshops, slick literary merchandise, book bundles, gift cards, free author services, etc., that you can offer? Please fill out that section on the form. Authors mostly care about prizes that directly affect them or their writing (such as money, residencies, memberships to something literary), but we are more than happy to provide sponsor prize packages for any or all of our winning positions, all the way down to our semifinalists, and everyone loves gifts. If you can’t give a lot of money but can give a little and subsidize that with other cool gifts, we’re happy to do a combination of both, as well. See the form for more details (and fill it out, if this applies to you!).
Help Us Fund:
The Coil Book Award recognizes an outstanding published book of merit from an independent press other than our own. All published books are eligible. The Coil Book Award annually awards a certificate, a cash honorarium, a trophy, and a full publicity package to one book of incredible merit from the indie press. FIND OUT MORE.
The Electric Book Award recognizes an unpublished manuscript of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid work, as a full-length collection or as a full-length whole. The Electric Book Award annually awards certificates, cash honorariums, print and digital publication, complimentary copies, and full publicity packages, plus royalties, to two unpublished manuscripts, one in January and one in July. SUBMIT YOUR UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT HERE.
The Spark Book Award recognizes an unpublished manuscript of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid work, as a full-length collection or as a full-length whole, that is geared toward young adults (yet does not talk down to the reader) and focuses on themes of science, mathematics, engineering, computing, invention, or history in a fresh, unique way. The Spark Book Award annually awards a certificate, a cash honorarium, print and digital publication, complimentary copies, and a full publicity package, plus royalties, to one unpublished manuscript. SUBMIT YOUR UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT HERE.
The Charter Oak Award recognizes individual pieces of prose and poetry of a historical theme submitted to Alternating Current Press. The Charter Oak for Best Historical annually awards certificates, cash honorariums, online and print publication, and complimentary anthology copies to a first, a second, and a third place, and online publication to nine notable-mention places, for the best piece of writing submitted to us that focuses on a person, place, idea, or event in history in a universal, personal, and non-scholarly way. SUBMIT YOUR HISTORICAL PIECES HERE.
The Luminaire Award recognizes individual pieces of prose and poetry of a general theme submitted to Alternating Current Press. The Luminaire Award for Best Prose annually awards certificates, cash honorariums, online and print publication, and complimentary anthology copies to a first, a second, and a third place, and online publication to nine notable-mention places, for the best pieces of prose submitted to us. The Luminaire Award for Best Poetry rewards the same for the best poetry submissions. SUBMIT YOUR SHORT STORIES & POEMS HERE.
The Oblaye Award recognizes individual pieces of prose or poetry submitted to Alternating Current of, by, about, or for Great Plains residents and Great Plains Native Americans and their immediate surrounding neighbors or those with any ties thereof. Oblaye is a Lakota Sioux word for a prairie, a plain, or a level place. The Great Plains Native American nations and rural residential region is near and dear to our hearts and is sorely underrepresented in “non-cowboy” contemporary literature. The Oblaye Award annually awards a certificate, cash honorarium, online and print publication, and complimentary anthology copies to a first place, and online publication to eleven notable-mention places, for the best “non-cowboy” pieces that evoke the prairie and Plains regions. SUBMIT YOUR GREAT PLAINS WRITING HERE.
Alternating Current gives out several annual writing awards, and each year, we couldn’t do it without the help of funders and supporters just like you. (Seriously, there’d be NO WAY we could do it; literature needs your support desperately.) We strive to pay each and every one of our contributors and to honor our writers clear down to the semifinalists, who are ALSO awesome and who ALSO receive publication! Our awards are sought-after and receive hundreds, often thousands, of submissions each year. We look for and value work that is nothing short of incredible and read all pieces blind so every author, regardless of any factor, has an equal chance at winning. When authors win awards, it can be life-changing and career-changing. Please help change an author’s life this year.
Our awards are funded by sponsors, companies, presses, individuals, and literary supporters just like you—YES, YOU! Our funders don’t just donate; you CHOOSE where the money goes, get to give the donation in memory/honor of someone, and get awesome publicity incentives, including free advertisements, social media plugs, and logos prominently featured. We get it. You want to be benefited and acknowledged, too, and we want to do that for you because we understand that these awards couldn’t survive without you.
The fun part is you don’t just ‘sort-of choose’ where the money goes—you get to claim your authors, from winners right down to every semifinalist, to help make sure they all get paid. And you get great perks, just for helping the indie literary community honor its fantastic authors. Please note that this does not fund our press; it funds our awards directly. Your money is going 100% directly to funding the authors for these awards; we ask only for the exact price of the award money and direct costs of the physical awards, so you know that all of it is going to deserving authors.
First, there is A FORM that has all sorts of options from which you can choose for your incentives. It looks long, but you only need to fill in what applies to you and skip the rest. We recommend filling out the form or checking the perks chart at the bottom of this page first, in case it changes your mind about any of your options along the way.
Second, there is A PAYMENT button. Select which item suits you best from the list below, and claim your prize to pay via PayPal, credit/debit card, e-check, for donations up to $200; and through business check, cashiers check, money order, wire transfer, or bank check, for donations over $200. WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE CHECK PAYMENTS because we don’t incur additional losses from service fees. Once your payment is processed (in-house), the availability icon will adjust, and your name/dedication will be listed there instead. To pay via cash, check, transfer, or money order, fill out the form and fill in the appropriate box. General donations are obviously accepted, too, and as they accrue, we will adjust the appropriate availability icons for the amounts donated. If you want to donate monthly or annually, please select that option on the form, and we’ll get back to you.
Our awards are listed here from top to bottom in order of importance to authors and to the independent press. Please, if you can afford it, start at the top of the list and at the top of each award category, for those are the direst selections.
Can’t afford to give money, but have awesome non-monetary prizes, such as residencies, workshops, slick literary merchandise, book bundles, gift cards, free author services, etc., that you can offer? Please fill out that section on the form. Authors mostly care about prizes that directly affect them or their writing (such as money, residencies, memberships to something literary), but we are more than happy to provide sponsor prize packages for any or all of our winning positions, all the way down to our semifinalists, and everyone loves gifts. If you can’t give a lot of money but can give a little and subsidize that with other cool gifts, we’re happy to do a combination of both, as well. See the form for more details (and fill it out, if this applies to you!).
2016 Benefactor: The FaulknerOnly One Available! (It’s all we need to fund all awards!)
2016 Benefactor: The HemingwayTwo Available!
2016 Benefactor: The DickensFive Available!
Please put my donation wherever it is needed.Any amount up to $200! (Want to donate over $200? Click here.)
The Coil Book Award recognizes an outstanding published book of merit from an independent press other than our own. All published books are eligible. The Coil Book Award annually awards a certificate, a cash honorarium, a trophy, and a full publicity package to one book of incredible merit from the indie press. FIND OUT MORE.
Full 2016 Coil Award & IncidentalsOnly One Available!
Full 2016 Monetary AwardOnly One Available!
Half 2016 Monetary AwardTwo Available!
Quarter 2016 Monetary AwardFour Available!
Tenth 2016 Monetary AwardTen Available! (Pay by check)
2016 TrophyOnly One Available! (Pay by check)
2016 CertificateOnly One Available! (Pay by check)
Help Where It’s Needed
The Electric Book Award recognizes an unpublished manuscript of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid work, as a full-length collection or as a full-length whole. The Electric Book Award annually awards certificates, cash honorariums, print and digital publication, complimentary copies, and full publicity packages, plus royalties, to two unpublished manuscripts, one in January and one in July. SUBMIT YOUR UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT HERE.
Full January 2016 Electric Book Award & IncidentalsOnly One Available!
Full January 2016 Monetary Award
Half January 2016 Monetary Award
Quarter January 2016 Monetary AwardFour Available!
Physical January 2016 Award Items
January 2016 Certificate
Full July 2016 Electric Book Award & Incidentals
Full July 2016 Monetary Award
Half July 2016 Monetary Award
Quarter July 2016 Monetary Award
Physical July 2016 Award Items
July 2016 Certificate
Help Where It’s Needed
The Spark Book Award recognizes an unpublished manuscript of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid work, as a full-length collection or as a full-length whole, that is geared toward young adults (yet does not talk down to the reader) and focuses on themes of science, mathematics, engineering, computing, invention, or history in a fresh, unique way. The Spark Book Award annually awards a certificate, a cash honorarium, print and digital publication, complimentary copies, and a full publicity package, plus royalties, to one unpublished manuscript. SUBMIT YOUR UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT HERE.
Full 2016 Spark Book Award & Incidentals
Full 2016 Monetary Award
Half 2016 Monetary Award
Quarter 2016 Monetary Award
Physical 2016 Award Items
2016 Certificate
Help Where It’s Needed
The Charter Oak Award recognizes individual pieces of prose and poetry of a historical theme submitted to Alternating Current Press. The Charter Oak for Best Historical annually awards certificates, cash honorariums, online and print publication, and complimentary anthology copies to a first, a second, and a third place, and online publication to nine notable-mention places, for the best piece of writing submitted to us that focuses on a person, place, idea, or event in history in a universal, personal, and non-scholarly way. SUBMIT YOUR HISTORICAL PIECES HERE.
Full 2016 Charter Oak Award All Places & Incidentals
Full 2016 1st Place Monetary AwardOnly One Available!
Half 2016 1st Place Monetary AwardTwo Available! (Pay by check)
Full 2016 2nd Place Monetary Award
Full 2016 3rd Place Monetary AwardOnly One Available! (Pay by check)
Physical 2016 Award Items for All Places
Half Physical 2016 Award Items for All Places
Full 9 Runners-Up 2016 Monetary Award
Half 9 Runners-Up 2016 Monetary Award
Full Semifinalists 2016 Monetary Award
Half Semifinalists 2016 Monetary Award
2016 Certificates for 1st–3rd Places
Help Where It’s Needed
The Luminaire Award recognizes individual pieces of prose and poetry of a general theme submitted to Alternating Current Press. The Luminaire Award for Best Prose annually awards certificates, cash honorariums, online and print publication, and complimentary anthology copies to a first, a second, and a third place, and online publication to nine notable-mention places, for the best pieces of prose submitted to us. The Luminaire Award for Best Poetry rewards the same for the best poetry submissions. SUBMIT YOUR SHORT STORIES & POEMS HERE.
Full 2016 Luminaire Poetry Award All Places & IncidentalsOnly One Available!
Full 2016 1st Place Poetry Monetary Award
Half 2016 1st Place Poetry Monetary Award
Full 2016 2nd Place Poetry Monetary Award
Full 2016 3rd Place Poetry Monetary Award
Physical 2016 Award Items for All Poetry Places
Half Physical 2016 Award Items for All Poetry Places
Full 9 Runners-Up 2016 Poetry Monetary Award
Half 9 Runners-Up 2016 Poetry Monetary Award
Full Semifinalists 2016 Poetry Monetary Award
Half Semifinalists 2016 Poetry Monetary Award
2016 Certificates for 1st–3rd Poetry Places
2016 Limited Edition Letterpressed Postcards of Top 12 Finalist Poems
Full 2016 Luminaire Prose Award All Places & Incidentals
Full 2016 1st Place Prose Monetary Award
Half 2016 1st Place Prose Monetary Award
Full 2016 2nd Place Prose Monetary Award
Full 2016 3rd Place Prose Monetary Award
Physical 2016 Award Items for All Prose Places
Half Physical 2016 Award Items for All Prose Places
Full 9 Runners-Up 2016 Prose Monetary Award
Half 9 Runners-Up 2016 Prose Monetary Award
Full Semifinalists 2016 Prose Monetary Award
Half Semifinalists 2016 Prose Monetary Award
2016 Certificates for 1st–3rd Prose Places
Help Where It’s Needed
The Oblaye Award recognizes individual pieces of prose or poetry submitted to Alternating Current of, by, about, or for Great Plains residents and Great Plains Native Americans and their immediate surrounding neighbors or those with any ties thereof. Oblaye is a Lakota Sioux word for a prairie, a plain, or a level place. The Great Plains Native American nations and rural residential region is near and dear to our hearts and is sorely underrepresented in “non-cowboy” contemporary literature. The Oblaye Award annually awards a certificate, cash honorarium, online and print publication, and complimentary anthology copies to a first place, and online publication to eleven notable-mention places, for the best “non-cowboy” pieces that evoke the prairie and Plains regions. SUBMIT YOUR GREAT PLAINS WRITING HERE.
Full 2016 Oblaye Award All Places & IncidentalsOnly One Available!
Full 2016 Monetary Award
Half 2016 Monetary Award
Physical 2016 Award Items for All Places
Full 11 Runners-Up 2016 Monetary AwardOnly One Available!
Half 11 Runners-Up 2016 Monetary AwardTwo Available! (Pay by check)
Full Semifinalists 2016 Monetary Award
Half Semifinalists 2016 Monetary Award
2016 Certificate
Help Where It’s Needed
| Name listed on awards page |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thank-you tweet | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Notification of award announcements | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Name listed on semifinalist announcement | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Name listed on Facebook semifinalist announcement | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Name listed on Ello semifinalist announcement | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| PDF of poetry postcards | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Name listed in honor/memory of someone | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| PDF of one book of choice | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Personal thank-you card | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Set of poetry bookmarks | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Set of vinyl stickers | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Set of poetry postcards | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| Set of buttons | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| Name listed on finalist announcement | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| Logo listed on semifinalist announcement | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| Name hyperlinked on page & announcements | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| Honoree’s name hyperlinked on page & announcements | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| PDF of a second book of choice | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| PDF poster of winning book | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| Name listed on winning announcement | |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Logo listed on finalist announcement | |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Logo hyperlinked on page & announcements | |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| 100-word bio of honoree listed on awards page | |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| 5 social media plugs across all our networks | |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| PDF of a third book of choice | |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| PDF of winning book | |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Name listed on press release | |
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Logo listed on winning announcement | |
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Logo listed on awards page | |
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Logo or ad on The Spark sidebar for 3 months | |
|
|
|
|
|||||
| 100-word bio of company listed on page | |
|
|
|
|
|||||
| PDF of a fourth book of choice | |
|
|
|
|
|||||
| PDF of a second & third winning book of choice | |
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Set of bookplates | |
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Logo listed on press release | |
|
|
|
||||||
| Logo listed at top of page, near title | |
|
|
|
||||||
| Logo or ad on The Spark for 5 more months | |
|
|
|
||||||
| Name listed in ebook of winning book | |
|
|
|
||||||
| PDF of next annual Footnote | |
|
|
|
||||||
| 5 more social media plugs across all our networks | |
|
|
|
||||||
| Set of limited-ed. letterpressed postcards of winners | |
|
|
|
||||||
| At least one handmade art project by an AC artist | |
|
|
|
||||||
| Logo or ad on The Spark for full year | |
|
|
|||||||
| Name listed in print & ebook of winning book | |
|
|
|||||||
| PDF of next triennial Award Anthology | |
|
|
|||||||
| Logo listed in print & ebook of winning book | |
|
||||||||
| Company bio listed in ebook of winning book | |
|
||||||||
| Honoree’s bio listed in ebook of winning book | |
|
||||||||
| 5 more social media plugs across all our networks | |
|
||||||||
| Spotlight article of company on The Spark | |
|
||||||||
| Be a judge for the finalist round | |
|
||||||||
| Logo listed on back print cover of winning book | |
|||||||||
| Logo listed on sponsors page | |
|||||||||
| 1 social media plug per week for a full year | |
|||||||||
| Signed physical copy of winning book | |
|||||||||
| PDF copies of all books from our press for year | |
|||||||||
| PDF posters of all winning books for year | |
|||||||||
| 10% discount on all items in catalog for life | |
|||||||||
| 10% discount on all author services for life | |
