The 2027 DISQUIET Prize and International Literary Program
The 2027 Disquiet Prize is now open for submissions. Entries are accepted in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Prizes:
- One winner in each category will be published: poetry in The Common, nonfiction in Ninth Letter, fiction in Electric Literature.
- One grand prize winner will receive a full scholarship, accommodations, and travel stipend to attend the fifteenth annual DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon (27 June to 9 July 2027).
- Genre winners will receive a tuition waiver for DISQUIET 2027 in addition to publication.
Winners who are unable to attend the program in Lisbon may elect to receive a $1000 cash prize in lieu of the tuition waiver.
Please note that your contest entry does not guarantee placement in or consideration for the DISQUIET program. If you’d like to be considered for participation in the program regardless of the outcome of the contest, you must submit a general application by 15 December 2026.
Here are the complete guidelines for the 2027 contest:
- Eligibility: Only previously unpublished work in English can be submitted. They accept entries from all ages 18 and over, from all countries, by authors who have not yet published more than one full-length book in any genre. You do not have to have published anything to be eligible. Chapbooks and other shorter publications will not effect eligibility.
- Entries should be the work of a single author.
- All entries should be in a standard typeface and 12pt font and in .pdf, .doc or .odt format.
- For fiction: ONE short story or novel excerpt, maximum 25 (double-spaced) pages per entry.
- For non-fiction: ONE nonfiction piece or book excerpt, maximum 25 (double-spaced) pages per entry.
- For poetry: No more than SIX poems per entry, up to 18 pages total.
- Entrants may submit to any or all categories more than once; however, each entry must be accompanied by its own entry fee.
- Please indicate the type of submission (short story, novel excerpt, poetry, non- fiction, etc.) in the submission form.
- Previous first place winners may not re-enter in the same genre.
Submission fee: A $15 US reading fee must accompany each entry.
Submission Deadline for contest: 4 January 2027
If you have any questions send an email to info@disquietinternational.org.