The Ronald Sukenick/American Book Review Innovative Fiction Contest is open to any writer of English who is a citizen of the United States and who has not previously published with Fiction Collective Two. Submissions may include a collection of short stories, one or more novellas, or a novel of any length. There is no length requirement. Works that have previously appeared in magazines or in anthologies may be included. Translations and previously self-published collections are not eligible. To avoid conflict of interest, former or current students or close friends of the final judge for 2008, Michael Martone, are ineligible to win the contest. Employees and Board members of FC2 are not eligible to enter.

Judges

Finalists for the Prize will be chosen by the following members of the FC2 Board of Directors: Kate Bernheimer, R. M. Berry, Brian Evenson, Noy Holland, Lance Olsen (Chair), Susan Steinberg, and Michael Martone.

The winning manuscript in 2008 will be chosen from the finalists by Lidia Yuknavitch, a member of the FC2 Board of Directors.

Selection criteria will be consistent with FC2's stated mission to publish "fiction considered by America's largest publishers too challenging, innovative, or heterodox for the commercial milieu," including works of "high quality and exceptional ambition whose style, subject matter, or form pushes the limits of American publishing and reshapes our literary culture."

For contest updates and full information on FC2's mission, history, aesthetic commitments, authors, events, and books, please visit the website at: http://fc2.org.

Deadlines

Contest entries will be accepted beginning 15 August 2008. All entries must be postmarked no later than 1 November 2008. The winner will be announced May 2009.

Prize

The Prize includes $1000 and publication by FC2, an imprint of the University of Alabama Press. In the unlikely event that no suitable manuscript is found among entries in a given year, FC2 reserves the right not to award a prize.

Manuscript Format

Please submit either TWO hardcopies of the manuscript, or ONE hardcopy and one Word file of the manuscript on a labeled CD.

The manuscript must be:

—anonymous: the author's name or address must not appear anywhere on the manuscript (the title page should contain the title only); include a separate cover page with your name and contact information;

—typed on standard white paper, one side of the page only; paginated consecutively; bound with a spring clip or rubber bands; no paper clips, binding or staples, please.

Please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard for notification that manuscript has been received, and a self-addressed, stamped, regular business-sized envelope for contest results.

We strongly advise that you send your manuscript first class.

Please retain a copy of your manuscript; FC2 cannot return manuscripts. Submission of more than one manuscript is permissible if each manuscript is accompanied by a $25 reading fee. Once submitted, manuscripts cannot be altered; the winner will be given the opportunity to make changes before publication. Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted, but FC2 must be notified immediately if manuscript is accepted elsewhere. FC2 will consider all finalists for publication.

Submission Address

Full manuscripts, accompanied by a check made out to American Book Review for the mandatory reading fee of $25, should be sent to:

Ronald Sukenick American Book Review Innovative Fiction Prize American Book Review University of Houston-Victoria School of Arts and Sciences 3007 N. Ben Wilson Victoria, TX 77901-5731