This year our Tu Books imprint established the New Visions Award, an annual writing contest for a middle grade or young adult fantasy, science fiction, or mystery novel by a writer of color. The award was started to encourage new voices of color in genre fiction, in response to the low number of writers of color working within these genres.
We’re very excited to announce our finalists! They are, in no particular order:
Bandit by Ibi Zoboi
The Ark Chronicles: Generation Zero by Ailynn Knox-Collins
Remnants of the Rising Sun by Valynne E. Maetani
Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi
This Beautiful Fever by Rahul Kanakia
Congratulations to all our finalists! Their novels will be reviewed and the winner announced by March 31.
Lee & Low Books is committed to finding talented new authors of color through our writing contests: the New Visions Award for middle grade and young adult genre fiction, and the New Voices Award for picture books. Please help us by spreading the word to anyone you know who may be interested in submitting!
Are you also committed to finding and highlighting new illustrators of color too? Perhaps a similar contest should be given for the artists that help make your stories beautiful.
Hi Will,
Thanks for the suggestion. Right now we don’t have plans for a contest for illustrators yet, but it’s certainly possible in the future. In the meantime, illustrators can still submit to us through our regular submissions process, since we are always committed to finding talented new illustrators of color as well as authors.
Congratulations finalists! Best of luck to all of you.
Congratulations to the finalists! I’m excited to read all of these books! 🙂