AWP Small Press Publisher Award

Nominations for the 2026 AWP Small Press Publisher Award open September 1, 2025, and will be accepted until October 31, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Submit a letter of nomination September 1–October 31, 2025

Submission Guidelines

Criteria

The AWP Small Press Publisher Award is for presses or journals that have consistently demonstrated excellence in the following: quality and discernment in curatorship of published work, quality of content, quality of editing, and skill and innovation in design. Nominees will be committed to nurturing the talents of their published authors, supporting their literary communities, and actively engaging in consistent and effective public engagement and outreach.

In even years, the award is given to a journal, and, in odd years, to a press. The 2026 AWP Small Press Publisher Award will be given to a journal.

The award includes a $2,000 honorarium and a complimentary exhibit booth, including two complimentary conference registrations, at the AWP Conference & Bookfair in the year following the recipient’s recognition. The exhibit booth is not transferrable; winners who choose not to exhibit at the next year’s bookfair will forfeit their complimentary exhibit space.

Eligibility Requirements

The AWP Small Press Publisher award will be given to a press or journal that has made significant contributions to contemporary literature.

• The nominee will be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
• The nominee will have participated in at least three previous AWP Bookfairs, which may include the bookfair held in the year in which they are nominated.
• The nominee will have been in operation for five years or more at the time of its nomination.
• The winner must travel to the AWP conference to receive the award.

Previous recipients of the award may not be nominated and will not be considered. Nominations will be considered for three years, including the year the nomination is submitted.

Letters of Nomination

Letters of nomination should include a detailed explanation of how the nonprofit press or literary journal has demonstrated consistent excellence in the criteria above, contributed to the literary landscape, and demonstrated commitment to nurturing authors.

Letters should be no longer than two single-spaced pages. Letters should include the name, email address, and signature of the nominating person as well as contact information for a representative of the organization nominated who can accept the award on behalf of the organization. All nominations should be in PDF format and submitted through AWP’s submission portal. Postal submissions will not be considered. An employee of an organization may not nominate their own organization for the award.

Award

All letters of nomination submitted before the deadline will be reviewed by a small committee who will select three finalists and determine a winner. The recipient will be announced during the Wednesday night Literary Awards Celebration at the AWP Conference & Bookfair. The winner will receive a complimentary booth, including two conference registrations, at the bookfair following the year the award was presented. (For example, the winner of the 2026 award will be announced at the 2026 AWP Conference & Bookfair and receive a booth at the 2027 AWP Conference & Bookfair.) The winner will also receive a $2,000 honorarium. Booths are not transferrable; winners who choose not to exhibit at the following year’s bookfair will forfeit their complimentary exhibit space.

All finalists will be announced on AWP’s website and social media accounts and featured in The Writer’s Chronicle.