Each year the Texas Institute of Letters awards more than $25,000 to recognize outstanding literary works in several categories, including the brand-new Giron/Valdez Award for Best Poem (English or Spanish).
In addition to these literary prizes, the TIL bestows a lifetime achievement award ($7,000) and the Jones Fellowship ($9,000), for a total of nearly $42,000 in annual awards.
Writers who have lived in Texas for at least five consecutive years at some point are eligible to enter, and works whose subject matter substantially concerns Texas are eligible as well.
Submissions:
The submissions window will open on October 1, 2026, for our 2027 awards:
Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction ($5,000)
Sergio Troncoso Award for Best First Book of Fiction ($5,000)
Carr P. Collins Award for Best Book of Nonfiction ($4,000)
Beverly Lowry Award for Best First Book of Nonfiction ($1,000)
Burdine C. Johnson Award for Best Book of Poetry ($1,250)
Naomi Shihab Nye Award for Best First Book of Poetry ($1,000)
Texas Institute of Letters Award for Most Significant Scholarly Book ($1,000)
Jean Flynn Award for Best Young Adult Book ($1,000)
Deirdre Siobhan FlynnBass Award for Best Middle Grade Book ($1,000)
Brigid Erin Flynn Award for Best Picture Book ($1,000)
Kay Cattarulla Award for Best Short Story ($1,000)
Edwin “Bud” Shrake Award for Best Short Nonfiction ($1,000)
NEW FOR 2027: Giron/Valdez Award for Best Poem (English or Spanish) ($1,000)
Fred Whitehead Award for Best Design of a Trade Book ($1,500; biennial)
Entry forms for these awards, containing complete guidelines, will be posted here on October 1. To receive notification via email when the entry forms are available, please join our mailing list.
Winners and honorees will be celebrated at the TIL’s annual awards banquet, to be held on May 1, 2027, in College Station, Texas.
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Award Winners for 2025 and 2026
[click on an image to learn more and/or purchase]
Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction ($5,000)
Beverly Lowry Award for Best First Book of Nonfiction ($1,000)
Kay Cattarulla Award for Best Short Story ($1,000)
- “All B’s and One C” by Patrick Font, Iron Horse Literary Review, 2025.
- “Saint Gloria” by Yvette DeChavez, American Short Fiction, 2026.
Edwin “Bud” Shrake Award for Best Short Nonfiction ($1,000)
- “Forgotten Keepers of the Rio Grande Delta” by Dylan Baddour, Texas Observer, 2025.
- “The Gospel of Change” by James Wade, Texas Highways, 2026.
- “You Don’t Have to Kill Us. You Don’t Have to Throw Us Away” by Michelle Pitcher, The Texas Observer, 2026.
