Futurist Debut Book Award

Submission Guidelines for the Futurist Debut Book Award

About the Futurist Debut Book Award

The Futurist Debut Book Award is Alternating Current Press’ annual book award to recognize an unpublished debut adult manuscript of literary fiction, short stories, poetry, plays, novels, long novellas, creative nonfiction, literary memoir, essay collections, or hybrid, as a full-length collection or as a full-length single work written by a debut author who has not yet published a full-length book in the submitted genre. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented authors, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space. (Please note that we do not publish children’s, middle-grade, or young-adult books.) [Back to Top]

What’s in a Name?

Illustration of Nikola Tesla created with generative A.I. by Mohammad and used under an Adobe Stock extended license.

Our press is largely Nikola Tesla-themed, so the Futurist Debut Book Award gets its name from Tesla’s occupation and the label given to him in his time, while also giving a nod to the contemporary award winner beginning a new career as a voice of the future. As an independent press, we feel it’s important to nurture and support the voices of literature’s future. (The award name is not indicative of any of the material being science fiction or futurist in nature. Submissions can be in any genre.) [Back to Top]

Next Reading Period

Submissions open: JUL 1, 2026
Submissions close: DEC 31, 2026
Winner announced: APR 2027
Publication: 2028/2029
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Current Status

The 2025 semifinalist longlist was announced here, and the 2025 winner was announced here. Submissions for the 2026 award are now closed, and the winner will be announced by April 2026. Submissions for the 2027 award cycle will open on July 1, 2026. [Back to Top]

The Prize

The winner receives $1,000 (upon publication), our gold Futurist Debut Book Award digital medallion, a certificate**, 30 gold medallion seals**, and book publication on Alternating Current Press, which includes distribution through Ingram, Asterism, and all major online retailers. Publication is in hardcover*, paperback, and ebook formats, with possible audiobook publication, as well, and includes 5 complimentary hardcover copies*, 20 complimentary paperback copies, a complimentary digital copy in all formats, and 30% net royalties. Publication also includes our standard publicity package, featuring a press kit, a book-club reading guide, a press release, a virtual book tour, multiple mailing-list email blasts, social media, review and contest copies, and more.

Runners-up may also be offered book publication and receive our silver and bronze digital medallions. All finalists receive a digital certificate.

(*Hardcovers are available for full-length books only; if a chapbook is selected as the winner, it will not be available in hardcover. **Print certificates and physical medallion seals can only be shipped to U.S. addresses; if a winner is selected with an out-of-U.S. shipping address, then certificates and medallions will be digital only.) [Back to Top]

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts must be written by an author who has not yet published a full-length book in the submitted genre. Previously published chapbooks do not count against you. Previously published books in other genres do not count against you. (Example: If you are submitting a debut poetry book, then it is fine to have had a previously published debut novel and/or a previously published debut chapbook, as long as you don’t have a previously published full-length poetry book.)
Manuscripts may be of any length in any genre or style. Manuscripts can be fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, or hybrid. Choose the category of best fit.
Manuscripts must be geared toward an adult readership. We do not publish books for children.
All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. At least one of the authors must be a debut author in the submitted genre. We do not consider A.I.-generated work.
Manuscripts are read incognito. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME OR ANY IDENTIFYING MARKS INSIDE THE FILE, including headers, footers, cover pages, acknowledgments, and file names. If you do leave your identifying marks inside the file, the submission will be read as-is, but the reader may disqualify the submission if he knows you on any personal level.
If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
Simultaneous submissions allowed. Please withdraw your manuscript through Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
If another of your books submitted to a different press gets picked up and would conflict with this book being your debut book in the submitted genre, then you are no longer eligible for this prize. Your book can still be considered for publication on our press, however, so if you lose eligibility for the prize but still wish to be considered for standard publication, you do not have to withdraw your work, but please send us a message through Submittable to let us know that your eligibility has changed. If any winning work is later deemed ineligible, the author does not win the prize. There are no refunds given for ineligibility.
ACP and The Coil staff may submit work for publication consideration, but they are ineligible to win prizes while on our staff (including volunteers).
Collections that contain previously published pieces are considered. Don’t include acknowledgments in the file.
Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
Straight or scholarly nonfiction should have proper citations.
There is a $19 fee for each manuscript submitted. You may submit as many manuscripts as you’d like, but each one must be submitted separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and book production costs, and we pay our readers for their time and effort, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest Futurist Debut Book Award winner. Since this is a new award, the digital copy is our latest published debut, Fish Love, a collection of poems about the macabre side of womanhood by Bryanna Licciardi ($7.99 value). There is an additional option to purchase the winning Futurist Debut Book Award print book (publishing in 2027/2028) as an add-on for a deep discount ($6.99 off the final cover price, U.S shipping only). If there is no winner selected for a chosen year, advance book purchases will roll over to the next year. If you purchase this option, please make sure to keep your Submittable mailing address current in your profile.
We will send a response to every submission and post an announcement of the winner by the end of April. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your book. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. We reserve the right not to choose a winning manuscript if there are no contestants that meet our high judging standards.
If you’re ready to submit, head on over to Submittable. [Back to Top]

Past Futurist Debut Book Award Winners

2026: Will be announced by April 2026
2025: Portable Glory: Stories by Alan Sincic | (Announcement) | (Longlist)
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Selection & Judging Process

We subscribe to the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) Contest Code of Ethics: “CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1.) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2.) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3.) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.”

We take submissions through Submittable and use its tools and our own to accept incognito submissions. The executive editor has access to the information, but she does not read or accept submissions. While the executive editor determines what is published on our press, she does not make judging decisions for awards.
We ask submitters not to include their names, contact information, or any identifying marks within the documents, titles, and file names of submissions.
Staff members of Alternating Current Press may have pieces published on The Coil or submit pieces for incognito submission consideration, but staff members are not eligible to win award prizes while serving on our staff. This includes volunteers while they are volunteering for our staff.
For all awards, the executive editor compiles a spreadsheet of all the eligible pieces, makes sure everything is stripped of any contact information, and sends that spreadsheet to the award editors. The award editors rank the selections to choose the top finalists. The incognito judging decisions are final.
While the manuscripts are read incognito, the editors are asked to recuse themselves from judging if there are any submissions that they may recognize as posing a personal conflict of interest. Once selected, we will reveal the winner’s name privately to the readers before announcement to clarify that there is no conflict of interest. Should there be a conflict, the next finalist in line without conflict shall become the winner, or judges shall recuse themselves from the ranking tallies. Conflicts of interest are defined as: close friends, relatives, students, and former students of the judges. We do not consider workshops to be disqualifying factors, unless the judge personally feels there is a conflict there. We leave the discretion of conflict identification up to the judges. Submissions that pose a conflict of interest may still be eligible for publication, even if they are ineligible for prizes.
The winner is notified prior to announcement. The results are publicly posted online at The Coil and on the press website. [Back to Top]