Submissions open November 1, 2024 for the Native Voices Award 2025 for prizes up to $500 USD. No entry fee is required. Indigenous storytellers, such as from Native American, First Nation Australian, and Polynesian communities, can submit an original, unpublished work in English; short story, flash fiction, nonfiction essay, script, or poetry. 

Submissions must be received by April 30, 2025 and should feature themes rich in culture. Winning submissions will be featured in the Kinsman Quarterly, its social media sites, and printed promotions. Winning submissions will also be published in the upcoming anthology, Native Voices, Vol. 2. Copyrights of the individual submissions remain with the authors and artists. However, copyrights for the anthology as a collection are reserved to Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc.

Those Eligible

• individuals 18 years or older
• literary or visual artists of an indigenous community (prioritized)
• must be able to receive cash prizes through either of the international payment systems Paypal or Payoneer of which require a small transaction fee. 
• must allow winning submission to be published in the Kinsman Quarterly, in promotional announcements, and social media outlets

Contest Guidelines

• Each entry should be an original, unpublished work by the submitting author, which does not infringe upon the copyrights of another individual or entity. Works published solely on the blog or social media outlets of the author or artist are eligible to submit.
• Employees and directors of Kinsman Quarterly and Kinsman Avenue Publishing are ineligible to enter Kinsman Quarterly contests.
• Submissions must be received by April 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
• Submissions should feature themes related to indigenous communities; including, but not limited to culture’s history, past/present family dynamics, customs, spirituality, myths and/or beliefs, cultural art, community challenges, etc. 
• Participants may enter more than one submission.
• Changes to the competition entry cannot be made once a work is submitted, but you may resubmit a revision.

Genre Guidelines:​

• short stories (1000-5000)
• flash fiction (up to 1000 words)
• creative nonfiction (up to 1000 words)
• poetry (1 to 5 poems in one document file. Poems submitted in one file will be scored as a full poetry collection.)

Formatting Guidelines

• All text entries must be in Times New Roman, font size 12, double-spaced. 
• Text files should be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf formats.
• Multipage submissions must include page numbers (not mandatory for title pages)
• Be sure to remove all track changes from edited text. 
• Name your file as follows: Genre_Title-of-Work_Last Name. Example: Nonfiction_The Way Is Easy_Jones
• Entries that do not adhere to guidelines, unfortunately, will not be considered. 

Available Prizes

Each writing genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry) is represented in the top three winning placements, however those winners compete for the one grand prize. 

• Grand Prize = $500 cash prize and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and annual anthology
• 1st Runner Up = $200 cash prize and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and annual anthology
• 2nd Runner Up = $100 cash prize and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and annual anthology
• 3rd Runner Up = $50 cash prize and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and annual anthology
• Top 6 Finalists receive a $25 Amazon gift card and publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and annual anthology
• 6 Honorary Mentions to receive publication in the Kinsman Quarterly and annual anthology

Note that prizes will be received within 60 days of announcements and are non-transferable. Kinsman Quarterly reserves the right to extend competition deadline (therefore also the announcement and prize distribution) by 30 days.

Entries that do not meet the required criteria will be disqualified without notice. Only one entry can be made per submission form. No alterations can be made to the document or artwork once submissions are received. You may, however, submit a revision in a second form, stating so in the title (example: Lord of the Bears.revised). Winners and honorable mentions will receive awards as determined in our terms and guidelines, and will be announced on our website and within our newsletter on May 31, 2025. Be sure to subscribe at https://www.kinsmanquarterly.org/community.