NEW YORK, June 15—The Simon & Schuster adult trade imprint is pleased to announce the second annual BOOKS LIKE US First Novel Contest to facilitate accessibility to underrepresented writers and celebrate the diversity of readers across the United States. As the nation continues to strive for progress, Simon & Schuster aims to help catalyze that change by amplifying voices that represent us, by publishing books like us.

Previously administered in 2021 by Gallery Books, the Books Like Us First Novel Contest will rotate among the various adult imprints at Simon & Schuster.

A two-week entry period will begin on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. At that time, writers are invited and encouraged to submit 25 pages of an original adult novel to https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/simon-and-schuster-books-like-us.  The publisher welcomes inclusive, entertaining, and ground-breaking reads with expert pacing, depth as well as heart, and irresistible characters who leap from the page. At the end of the submission period, the editorial, marketing, and publicity teams at Simon & Schuster will review all submissions for originality, relevance to today’s publishing climate, and writing quality. In January 2023, the author of the selected novel will be awarded the opportunity to enter into a $50,000 book deal with Simon & Schuster.

Full rules for the BOOKS LIKE US First Novel Contest can be reviewed at https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/simon-and-schuster-books-like-us-rules

SIMON & SCHUSTER, the flagship imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., was founded in 1924 and has remained as a cornerstone of the company and one of the most venerated brand names in publishing. Among its award-winning and culturally influential works are All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein; Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch; No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin; Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry; Catch-22 by Joseph Heller; Truman by David McCullough; Chosen by Chaim Potok; A Book of Common Prayer by Joan Didion; Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis; Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher; Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton; and Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Simon & Schuster also publishes scores of bestselling and critically acclaimed fiction writers, including John Irving, Mary Higgins Clark, Nicholson Baker, Alice Hoffman, James Lee Burke, Martin Cruz Smith, and Marianne Wiggins. Simon & Schuster’s fiction program seeks to publish an array of voices, and recent notable novels include The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan, The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday, Ohio by Stephen Markley, Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton, Hark by Sam Lipsyte, The Caregiver by Samuel Park, and Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson.

 

Simon & Schuster, Inc., a Paramount company, is a global leader in general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world’s most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honors and awards. It is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Adams Media, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, and proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories. For more information visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com

Contact: Anne Tate Pearce, BooksLikeUs@SimonandSchuster.com