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This is a work site, to announce the prize and solicit submissions, to announce the prize winners.
Background and Prize Description
On the recommendation of a committee of SCN past presidents, the board has approved the award of one (or possibly more) book prizes.
The Sarton Memoir Award recognizes the significance, breadth, and scope of women's memoirs. It is named in honor of May Sarton (1912-1995), a distinguished American memoirist, poet, and novelist. Her memoirs are models of authenticity, honesty, and stylistic excellence.
The prizes will be awarded biannually at Stories From the Heart. The judging will take place in two rounds: 1) screening round, by judges chosen from the SCN membership; 2) final round, by a panel of professional librarians, NOT SCN members.
Eligibility for the 2011 prize: Books by women memoirists published in North America during 2010-2011 and submitted by authors or publishers for the prize. Authors do not have to be SCN members.
Categories: to be discussed/determined.
Awards (to be determined) suggested: $300, $200, $100, plus a plaque
Entry Fee (to be determined) suggested: $60
Benefits: National attention for SCN, and another way to distinguish ourselves among women's writing organizations. This would be unique: there are no other memoir awards offered (to my knowledge).
Cost to SCN: awards ($600 plus cost of plaques, more if we do categories); publicity (all online and in our Journal, brochure, etc, no additional print publicity); mailing of books to judges; Peggy's time. Break-even is estimated at 15 entries.There is additionally the volunteer cost: a coordinator and judges.
Timeline: to award the prize at our SCN National Memoir Conference, Austin TX, April 13-15, 2012, we would need a deadline of December 15, 2011 (for books published in 2011).
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