Dan’s Papers Literary Prize Returns for Fourth Summer

Summertime inspires many things on the East End, great writing among them. The Dan’s Papers Literary Prizes for Nonfiction is back for a fourth year, with an expanded array of prizes and the introduction of the all-new Dan’s Papers $4,000 Emerging Young Writers Prize for Nonfiction.

Created in 2012, the Dan’s Papers Literary Prize for Nonfiction celebrates the deep connection between writers and the East End of Long Island, with prizes totaling $10,000 for 2015. The Dan’s Papers $6,000 Literary Prize for Nonfiction is open to writers of all ages. The grand prize winner will receive $5,000, with two runners-up receiving $500 each. New this year, the $4,000 Emerging Young Writers Prize for Nonfiction is open to authors 25 years and younger. One first-prize winner will receive $3,000, with two runners-up receiving $500 each.

Both competitions call for entries to be original works of nonfiction between 600 and 1,500 words. All entries must reference the East End of Long Island in a meaningful way.

“We created the original Dan’s Papers Literary Prize for Nonfiction to honor writers, as Dan’s Papers has been honoring local artists on its cover since 1987. The Emerging Young Writers Prize is another way to expand our celebration of the rich culture of the East End,” says Dan Rattiner, founder, president and editor-in-chief of Dan’s Papers. Both contests are now accepting entries online at LiteraryPrize.DansPapers.com until August 15. The cost per entry is $25, and writers may enter each contest a maximum of three times.

Also new this year, the Dan’s Papers Literary Prizes for Nonfiction will recognize six additional writers with a Judges’ Choice category.

All winners will be decided by an independent panel of judges that will include the chairman of a major ad agency, the chairman of a publishing house, and world-renowned authors. The awards will be announced at a ceremony at Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater in East Hampton on Thursday, September 3. This year’s keynote speaker will be acclaimed novelist and journalist Tom Wolfe. Pulitzer prize–winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer will deliver the inaugural address in honor of the Emerging Young Writers Prize. The first prize entries will be read aloud. Past readers have included Emmy award–winning journalist Pia Lindström and Academy Award winner Mercedes Ruehl.

Connect with the Dan’s Papers Literary Prize all summer at the monthly Salon Series at the Southampton Arts Center on Jobs Lane. The events, which are free and open to the public, will feature several writers reading their entries from past contests.

In continuing the Dan’s Papers mission to give back to the community, Dan’s Papers is also offering the $2,500 Stony Brook Scholarship, open to Stony Brook University students interested in a career in writing. Submissions are closed, but the winner will be announced this summer.

Major funding for the Literary Prize is provided by Barnes & Noble. Sponsorships are provided by Southampton Inn, Bobby Van’s, Bridgehampton National Bank and Ben Krupinski Builders. Support for the Emerging Young Writers competition is provided by Alec Baldwin.

Visit LiteraryPrize.DansPapers.com for official rules, to view past entries and to enter the contests.