South Carolina Novel Series

How the series works

The series is open to writers of all levels who have lived in South Carolina for at least one year prior to submission of their manuscript.

• Deadline

  Submissions are open until 11:59 p.m. ET on February 15, 2024.

• Eligibility and guidelines

  Eligibility

  • The series is open to writers of all levels who have lived in South Carolina for at least one year prior to submission of their manuscript. (Residency will be verified before the winner is announced.)
  • Submitters must not be affiliated with Hub City Press or Hub City Writers Project as a staff member or volunteer.

  Guidelines

  1. Hub City Press will accept typed manuscript submissions between November 1, 2023 and 11:59 p.m. February 15, 2024. The winner is announced in the spring.
  2. Only manuscripts between 150 and 350 (single-sided) pages are eligible (or no more than 90,000 words) Submission must be an original work of which the applicant is the sole author.
  3. We ask that writers submit only one (1) book during the submission period. Second submissions of additional books will not be read.
  4. Simultaneous submissions of the same manuscript to other publishers or contests are acceptable but please notify us through withdrawal of your submission if your manuscript has been accepted elsewhere.
  5. While translations and manuscripts in languages other than English are not eligible, manuscripts that occasionally use words from other languages are acceptable and welcome.
  6. No revisions of submitted manuscripts will be allowed during the contest.

  Other Information

  • There is no fee to submit your work!

• Novel Series partners

  Hub City Press

  Hub City Press was founded in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1995 and since then has emerged as one of the South’s premier independent presses. Focused on finding and spotlighting new and extraordinary voices from the American South, the press has published more than 80 high-caliber literary works, including novels, short stories, poetry, memoir, and books emphasizing the region’s culture and history. Hub City is interested in books with a strong sense of place and committed to introducing a diverse roster of lesser-heard Southern voices. For more information, visit www.hubcity.org or call 864.577.9349.

  South Carolina State Library

  The South Carolina State Library develops, supports, and sustains a thriving statewide community of learners committed to making South Carolina stronger. The Library serves the people of South Carolina by supporting state government and libraries to provide opportunities for learning in a changing environment. It is the primary administrator of federal and state support for the state’s libraries. In 1969, as the result of action by the General Assembly, the State Library Board was redesignated as the South Carolina State Library and assumed responsibility for public library development, library service for state institutions, service for the blind and physically handicapped, and library service to state government agencies. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Library is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and other sources. For more information, please visit www.statelibrary.sc.gov or call 803.734.8666.

  South Carolina Humanities

  South Carolina Humanities is the state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The mission of South Carolina Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. South Carolina Humanities programs and initiatives are balanced, reflect sensitivity to a diversity of ideas, encourage open dialogue, demonstrate integrity, and are ethical in operations. For more information, visit www.schumanities.org or call 803.771.2477.

  And, of course, the SCAC. 

Winners of the S.C. Novel Series

• Current winner

  The winner of the 2022 South Carolina Novel Series is Robert Maynor for his debut novel, The Big Game is Every Night.  

  Hub City Press published it in August 2023.

  Robert Maynor is from the Lowcountry of South Carolina. He lives and writes in a patched-up fish camp on the bank of the Edisto River, the longest free-flowing blackwater river in North America. His fiction explores the spectrum of complexities and contradictions in the contemporary American South. His short stories have appeared in Blood Orange Review, BULL, the Carolina Quarterly, and CRAFT, among other outlets. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and he is the past recipient of the Larry Brown Short Story Award and the Coker Fellowship in Fiction from the South Carolina Academy of Authors. The Big Game Is Every Night is his first novel.

• Past winners

  2020

  Maris Lawyer of Easley received the prize in 2020 for her manuscript, The Blue Line Down. Hub City Press published the book in 2021.

  2018

  Scott Sharpe of Eastover received the prize in 2018 for his manuscript, Whispering in the Wind, released by Hub City Press in 2019 under the name A Wild Eden.

  2016

  Brock Adams of Spartanburg won the 2016 First Novel Prize. His novel, Ember, was published by Hub City Press in September 2017.

  2014

  James McTeer‘s 2014 winning novel, Minnow, received starred reviews in Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews and favorable reviews in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Los Angeles Review of Books. The book is now in its second printing.

  2012

  Susan Tekulve won the 2012 First Novel prize with her book In the Garden of Stone. Tekulve’s book has sold thousands of copies and was reviewed in national magazines and journals. Her book tour included four states and several book festivals. Tekulve’s work is now represented by a New York agent.

  2010

  Matt Matthews of Greer was the winner of the 2010 competition. His book, Mercy Creek, was published in 2011. Brian Ray of Columbia was the winner of the inaugural novel competition. His book, Through the Pale Door, was published by Hub City in June 2009. Both books have been widely and favorably reviewed across the Southeast.