Debuting in 2021
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About American Editions: A 21st Century Liberatory Publishing Project
Imagine a multimedia project that produces print, digital, and book art publications with innovative marketing. Imagine a non-exploitative project that ensures authors' full ownership, clear rights, and the lion's share of profits from sales. Imagine a multi-genre project in which all of the products—be they prose or poems, nonfiction or fiction—focus on ideas, stories, and issues from a sophisticated, grassroots, anti-oppressive, progressive, intercultural, and liberatory point of view. Imagine a project with an exacting attention to bespoke design and high editorial quality so that the finest innovations are shared to the public. These are the qualities that American Editions makes real. 

Announcing the Make A Way Book Award

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Description
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  • How do authors wish to enact American cultural change? For the Make A Way Book Award, American Editions will publish a polemical nonfiction book-length essay about changing the United States for the better. This opportunity is offered to authors who may not have access to publishing their most radical and pathbreaking ideas. We encourage writing that merges autobiographical reflection with well reported, sourced, and researched ideas. The book’s theme may be healing-oriented, political, environmental, artistic, or another social change-focused investigation. 
 
  • American Editions invites progressive American authors to apply. Authors must have a strong, regular social media presence that is free of trolling or bias against marginalized groups. The author's book does not have to be a first book and people of all ages above 21 years old may apply. People of color of diverse genders and sexualities as well as disabled individuals and people from under-served socioeconomic situations are strongly encouraged to apply.
 
  • Complete book manuscripts that, once edited, can be published in 2021 are requested. Submitted manuscripts should be approximately 240 pages double-spaced (or around 60,000 words), and in Courier font. We are open to slightly shorter books (between 180 and 200 pages double-spaced in Courier font) as long as the ideas are developed and the message is complete. Books that contain visual art or illustrations are welcome.

Award Benefits

  • The recipient of the award receives $700 US from which the author must pay all applicable taxes. This cash award is not an advance against royalties. Rather, the award is intended to honor the winning author and to help the author fund a portion of their time working with an editor and marketing the book.
 
  • American Editions will publish, edit, design, and market the book in print, digital, and/or book art formats with a 70 percent (author) and 30 percent (publisher) split on sales. We ask for the author to collaborate with marketing the book. Without exaggeration, this arrangement represents one of the most generous, non-exploitative agreements in American publishing.
 
  • American Editions will edit the award-winning book at no cost to the author. We are fortunate to be working with a seasoned editor named Miss Cleis Abeni. Miss Abeni is a longtime member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and a veteran humanitarian who has edited two hundred-plus published books over the last three decades. Authors must be willing to have their manuscripts edited to ensure high quality publication. (Editing refers to copyediting, substantive editing, and/or proofreading.)
 
  • The author retains full copyright of the book and grants American Editions English language first and second serial rights. ​

How to Apply
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  • By Thursday December 31, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST, use the contact form below to communicate your intent to apply for the award.
 
  • American Editions will review submitted materials and email worthy authors an invitation to submit a book manuscript. American Editions will also give authors instructions for formatting.
 
  • Once we review all submissions, we will make a determination to publish at the beginning of 2021 and then release the book by the end of the year.​
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  • We reserve the right to delay or cancel this project due to insufficient applications. Please carefully follow the directions below under "Intent to Apply."

    Intent to Apply