Discover Great New Writers Selection Process

Founded in 1990, the Discover Great New Writers program highlights books of exceptional literary quality from authors at the start of their careers.

A small group of Barnes & Noble bookseller volunteers convenes year-round to review submissions to the program and handpick titles for our promotion, currently featured at 700+ Barnes & Noble and 100 prominent Barnes & Noble College Bookstores, and on www.bn.com/discover.

Annually, we recognize two of our exceptional writers with the Discover Great New Writers Award (one each for Fiction and Non-fiction). In addition to a $10,000 prize, we promote the winning titles extensively in our stores and online.

Previous recipients of the Discover Award include Monica Ali, Eric Blehm, Tracy Chevalier, Joshua Ferris, Ben Fountain, Chang-rae Lee, Elizabeth McCracken, David Sheff, and Hampton Sides, among others.

Publishers recommend writers making a strong literary debut. Authors cannot submit their own work to the program; self-published writers and titles published via print-on-demand or available only as NOOK books are also ineligible for submission.

Once selected, participation in Discover Great New Writers™ includes:

• Face-out display in the Discover bay in each of our bookstores (length of display is usually 12 weeks)
• An individual shelf-talker with a teaser line placed under each face-out
• A 20% discount on Discover titles for the length of the promotion
• Promotion online at www.bn.com/discover and The Discover Blog as well as via consumer emails, @BNBuzz Twitter feed, and Nook features for the Discover Award finalists and Discover Seasonal selections.
• Special consideration for Discover-selected writers for in-store events and book group discussions

• Debuting authors and writers with fewer than three previously published books who have yet to receive a major literary award or whose net sales have yet to reach 10,000 copies are eligible for consideration. Exceptions are sometimes made for authors who have published more titles, but have yet to break out to a larger audience. Submissions must be original publications, penned by one author.
• Literary fiction, short story collections and literary non-fiction, such as travel essays, memoirs, or other non-fiction with a strong narrative, qualifies. Books should be intended for an adult or a young adult audience.
• Deceased authors and those previously featured in the Discover program are ineligible. Books submitted for a prior season and rejected will not be reconsidered.
• Submissions must be made prior to book publication date.

2013-2014 Submission Deadlines:

For further information on submissions, contact:

Miwa Messer
Director, Discover Great New Writers
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
122 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011

E-mail: MMesser@bn.com
Phone: (212) 633-4067