The Proverse Prize is an annual international competition for an unpublished publishable book-length work of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry, established in 2008. It is open to all who are at least eighteen years old on the date they sign the entry form and without restriction of nationality, residence or citizenship.
Its objectives are: To encourage excellence and / or excellence and usefulness in publishable written work in the English Language, which can, in varying degrees, “delight and instruct”.
Each year’s Entry Form with confirmed Terms and Conditions is uploaded to this website no later than April every year.
In the meantime the following points may be followed for guidance.
Each submitted work must be an unpublished publishable single-author work of non-fiction, fiction or poetry, the original work of the entrant, and submitted in the English language. School textbooks are ineligible.
Translated work: If the work entered is a translation from a language other than English, both the original work and the translation should be previously unpublished.
Extent of the Manuscript: within the range of what is usual for the genre of the work submitted. However, it is advisable that novellas be in the range 35,000 to 50.000 words); other fiction (e.g. novels, short-story collections) and non-fiction (e.g. autobiographies, biographies, diaries, letters, memoirs, essay collections, etc.) should be in the range, 80,000 to 110,000 words. Poetry collections should be in the range, 8,000 to 30,000 words. Other word-counts and mixed-genre submissions are not ruled out.
Writers may choose, if they wish, to obtain the services of an Editor in presenting their work, and should acknowledge this help and the nature and extent of this help in the Entry Form.
The Prize
1) Publication by Proverse Hong Kong.
2) Cash prize of HKD10,000. (HKD7.80 = approx. US$1.00) awarded on publication of the winning work(s).
(If there are two winners, the cash prize will be shared equally.)
Supplementary (publication) prizes may be made to selected other entrants.
Depending on the quality of the work submitted, the prize may be shared by at most two entrants or withheld, as recommended by the judges.
NOTE: The information on this page is for guidance only. If anything is not consistent with the Entry Form with confirmed Terms and Conditions for the current year, the Entry Form with confirmed Terms and Conditions shall prevail.
ENTRY PERIOD FOR THE PROVERSE PRIZE IN ANY YEAR (subject to confirmation*)
14 April to 14 June (inclusive)