HHKBA Submissions
Award Schedule
2025 Best Poetry (collection of poems of at least 60 pages)
2026 Best Fiction (novel or collection of short stories)
2027 Best Literary Nonfiction (memoir, essays, journalistic writing)
2028 Best Poetry
2029 Best Fiction
2030 Best Literary Nonfiction
continuing to alternate every three years
2025 Poetry Award Guidelines
Nominations can come from publishers, authors, or anyone interested in seeing a book considered. Only one book per author may be submitted.
Books must be original work by a single author (no anthologies).
Author must establish a connection to Kansas by birth, education, employment, residence or other significant claim.
Please submit two signed copies of each book nominated. Those books become the property of the Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection.
Books must have an original publication date (copyright notice) within three calendar years immediately preceding the year of the competition deadline. For example, to be eligible for the 2025 Literary Nonfiction deadline, the nominee's book must have a publication date of 2022, 2023, or 2024.
Previous awardees are eligible to submit a new book.
Nominations for this year's award must be postmarked or presented by February 15, 2025.
Along with a statement of Kansas connection, author email, phone, and postal address, please submit books for consideration to:
Awards
c/o Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection
University Library
1700 College
Topeka, KS 66621
2025 Poetry Award Judge
This year’s judge will be 2022 HHKBA Poetry winner Michael Kleber-Diggs, author of Worldly Things (Milkweed Editions, 2021), which also received the Max Ritvo Prize and the Balcones Prize.
