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| Mercer University Press Prize | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mercer University Press Prize |
| Presenter | Mercer University Press |
| Country | United States |
| Established | 200x |
| Reward | Publication, honorarium |
Mercer University Press Prize The Mercer University Press Prize is a literary award administered by Mercer University Press that recognizes notable achievements in poetry and prose, fostering connections among writers and institutions such as Mercer University, Oxford University Press, University of Georgia Press, Princeton University Press, and Columbia University Press. The prize operates within the network of American and international literary awards alongside Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Man Booker Prize, PEN/Faulkner Award, and Whiting Awards, contributing to the publication trajectories of authors affiliated with Georgia, Tennessee, New York, California, and Texas literary communities.
The prize functions as a selective publication contest similar to competitions run by University of Chicago Press, Yale University Press, Harvard University Press, University of Michigan Press, and Rutgers University Press. Designed to elevate manuscripts from emerging and established writers, it interacts with festivals and institutions such as Decatur Book Festival, Brooklyn Book Festival, Hay Festival, AustLit, and National Book Critics Circle. Winners often gain visibility in venues like The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry Magazine, The Atlantic, and Granta.
Founded during a period of expansion in regional university presses that included University Press of Mississippi, University of North Carolina Press, LSU Press, University Press of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University Press, the prize emerged from initiatives involving faculty at Mercer University College of Liberal Arts, staff at Mercer University Press, and partners in publishing such as Library of Congress collections and archives like Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Its establishment paralleled developments at organizations including Association of American University Presses, Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, Southern Literary Festival, and collaborative efforts with groups like Community Bookshelf.
Eligibility criteria mirror formats used by competitions sponsored by Poets & Writers, Academy of American Poets, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, Iowa Writers' Workshop, and Kenyon Review. Submissions typically require unpublished manuscripts that meet specifications comparable to those of Graywolf Press, Copper Canyon Press, Four Way Books, BOA Editions, and Tupelo Press. Entrants often include individuals affiliated with institutions such as Emory University, Georgia State University, Vanderbilt University, Duke University, and University of Alabama, and must adhere to guidelines on page counts, formats, and entry fees similar to those enforced by Poetry Foundation contests and New Directions Publishing programs.
The selection process employs panels of judges drawn from networks including editors and poets connected to The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, and The Missouri Review. Judges have been associated with universities such as University of Iowa, Brown University, New York University, University of Virginia, and Stanford University, and with presses like Copper Canyon Press, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Knopf, Scribner, and Graywolf Press. The prize’s adjudication has involved poets, fiction writers, and scholars who participate in forums like AWP Conference, Lambda Literary, NACCS, and Society of Southern Authors.
Winners receive publication by Mercer University Press and a monetary honorarium comparable to awards from Milkweed Editions, City Lights Publishers, Bellevue Literary Press, Akashic Books, and State University of New York Press. Publication includes production, distribution, and marketing efforts linked with wholesalers and retailers such as Ingram Content Group, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Powell's Books, and promotional placement at events like BookExpo America, Frankfurter Buchmesse, London Book Fair, and Small Press Distribution showcases.
Recipients often join cohorts of authors recognized by National Poetry Series, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, National Book Critics Circle Award, Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, and Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. Past winners have gone on to appear in anthologies alongside contributors to The Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, Poetry Daily, and collections edited by figures associated with Alice Fulton, Mark Strand, Stanley Kunitz, Mary Oliver, and W.S. Merwin. Individual laureates have held fellowships from NEA, Guggenheim Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Radcliffe Institute, and Rockefeller Foundation.
The prize has influenced literary careers and regional publishing ecosystems similarly to the effects observed with awards administered by PEN America, National Endowment for the Arts, Cave Canem, The Loft Literary Center, and The Poetry Foundation. Critics and reviewers at outlets such as The New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and The Washington Post have noted the prize’s role in highlighting writers connected to networks including Southern Literary Review, Southeast Review, Georgia Review, Oxford American, and Blackbird. The award continues to be a point of reference for librarians, booksellers, and scholars affiliated with institutions like Smithsonian Institution, Library Journal, American Library Association, National Humanities Center, and Peabody Awards.