Each year the Texas Institute of Letters awards more than $23,000 to recognize outstanding literary works in several categories. 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 more than $39,000 in annual awards.
Eligibility for the awards requires that the author have been born in Texas or have lived in Texas for at least five consecutive years at some time. A work with subject matter that substantially concerns Texas is also eligible. Beginning in April of 2024, the year listed refers to when the award was presented.
Submissions:
The window for 2024 submissions has now closed. Information on the next cycle of awards will be posted here in September of 2025.
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Award Winners for 2023 and 2024
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Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction ($5,000)
Kay Cattarulla Award for Best Short Story ($1,000)
- “Jewel of the Gulf of Mexico” by Selena Gambrell Anderson, McSweeney’s, 2024.
- “Playing the Ghost” by Bret Anthony Johnston, Texas Monthly, 2023.
Edwin “Bud” Shrake Award for Best Short Nonfiction ($1,000)
- “Amor Eterno” by Skip Hollandsworth, Texas Monthly, 2024.
- “Uvalde Vive” by Gus Bova, The Texas Observer, 2023.
