The DISQUIET Prize

The 2025 DISQUIET Prize is now open for submissions!

Please note that eligibility requirements have changed for 2025.

Deadline: January 6, 2025

Entries are accepted in ficton, nonfiction, and poetry. One winner in each category will be published in Granta.com (fiction), NinthLetter.com (non-fiction) or The Common (poetry).

One grand prize winner will receive a full scholarship, accommodations,  and travel stipend to attend the tenth annual DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon (June 22-July 4, 2025).

Genre winners will receive a tuition waiver for DISQUIET 2025 in addition to publication.

Winners who are unable to attend the progam 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 the DISQUIET program. If you’d like to be considered for participation in the program program regardless of the outcome of the contest, please submit a general application by December 2, 2024.

The complete guidelines for the 2025 contest are as follows:

Deadline: January 6, 2025

    • Eligibility: Only previously unpublished work in English can be submitted. We accept entries from all ages 18 and over, from all countries, by authors who have not yet published a 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 10 pages total.
    • Entrants may submit to any or all categories more than once; however, each entry must be accompanied by its own entry fee.
    • Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please notify us immediately if your submission is accepted elsewhere.
    • Please indicate the type of submission (short story, novel excerpt, poetry, non- fiction, etc.) in the submission form
    • Include your complete contact information (name, address, telephone, email address) in the Submittable form.
    • Winners will be notified in March 2025.
  • Previous first place winners may not re-enter in the same genre.

Visit our Submittable page to enter. A $15 US reading fee must accompany each entry.

Questions? Contact info@disquietinternational.org