MEMOIR PRIZE FOR BOOKS 2026
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Now accepting nominations for the 2026 Memoir Prize for Books!
Deadline: Extended to September 1, 2026!
Now in its 6th year, the Annual Memoir Prize awards Memoir and Creative Nonfiction book-length works of exceptional merit in the categories of traditional, self-published, and previously unpublished prose.
General Guidelines:
Submit a book-length work on any theme.
Traditionally published, Small, Academic, and Independent presses, Self-published, and Unpublished Manuscripts are all accepted for Grand Prize consideration. There are no restrictions on the type of press, subject matter, length, nationality of origin, or the year of publication.
Entries will be evaluated on content, writing quality, and overall quality of production and appearance.
All entries must be in English.
Memoir Magazine will award $5,000 in cash prizes for books of memoir in any style, sub-genre, or state of publication to a Grand Prize winner and 3 Finalists.*
Winning entrants will receive one year of free Book Promotion by Memoir Magazine, a digital award seal for use in promoting their win, and excerpts will be considered for publication in Memoir Magazine. In addition, 10 Category selections will be chosen as Memoir Magazine Recommended Reads, to be featured on the winning announcement page, website, and social media outlets. You may submit published or unpublished work as a manuscript, a full-length book of memoir or creative nonfiction, a collection of essays, or a graphic narrative as a single entry.
Multiple contest entries and multiple category entries are allowed. You may submit more than one book by filling out a new submission form and paying the fee for each entry.
Deadline: September 1, 2026!
Entry fee: US$100 per book
Submissions: Please, specify the category, along with the theme, and subject matter of your memoir. Next, add your brief bio. Finally, UPLOAD your entry as a digital file (PDF, epub, MOBI, Word doc, or Audiobook,) or send us a gift link or code to download or access your Kindle or Audiobook as a gift.
We will not be accepting print versions this year.
The MEMOIR MAG team truly loves discovering and promoting a variety of new books and authors throughout the year, and your entry fee supports all the good work we do at our literary magazine. This Contest allows us to offer free creative nonfiction content for the public and guarantees authors' work will always be discovered by new readers and students who rely on our archive of first-person narratives.
We can’t wait to read your story. Best of luck!