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Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction

Born April 30, 1945, Annie Dillard is best known for her nature-themed writing. She has explored her past and present dealings with nature through poetry, essays and novels. Often compared to Thoreau and other transcendentalist writers, Dillard is unique in her defiance of any strict categorization. As she examines the natural world, her subjects move between wildlife, God and the human condition. Among the nine book-length publications Dillard has published over the past twenty years, her use of multiple genres allows her to seamlessly move from Virginia creeks, to the Puget Sound, to the Galapagos Islands. Her best-known work, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, has been described as a “book of theology.” While her more autobiographical book, An American Childhood, explores her early childhood years through nature. Dillard obtained a Master of Arts in English at Hollins College in Virginia. In 1975 she was awarded the Pulitzer for general non-fiction. Dillard continues to write and is now an adjunct professor of English and a writer-in-residence at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.


1st Prize --- $1,000
Final Judge: Stephen Kuusisto

First place winners will be published in the Bellingham Review. Second and third place winners and finalists may be considered for publication.

Submission Guidelines

1. Entry Fees:

• $18 for the first entry (one nonfiction work).
• Each additional entry is $10.
• Please make checks payable to: The Bellingham Review.
• Everyone entering the competition will receive a complimentary two-issue subscription to Bellingham Review.
• International Submissions: The Bellingham Review is only able to process international money orders made out in US dollars. Please include an extra $10 to cover the cost of mailing a subscription overseas. If you would like to enter the contest without receiving an international subscription, let us know, and you will owe only the $18 entry fee.

2. Deadline: Submissions must be postmarked between December 1, 2007, and March 15, 2008.

3. For each entry, submit the following:

• 3" x 5" index card stating the title of the work, the category (creative nonfiction), the author's name, phone number, address and email. Please make sure the writing is legible on this card. The author's name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript; the index card will serve as the only record of your entry.
• A check made out to The Bellingham Review.
• A self-addressed stamped envelope for announcement of winners. The author's name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript.

4. Maximum length for prose is 8,000 words.

5. No previously published works, or works accepted for publication, are eligible. Work may be under consideration elsewhere, but must be withdrawn from the competition if accepted for publication. Current students, faculty, or staff of WWU are not eligible to enter the contest.

6. Send entries to:
Annie Dillard
Bellingham Review
Mail Stop 9053
Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA 98225

7. Manuscripts will not be returned. Winners will be announced by July, 2008.

8. To download a printer friendly, Microsoft Word version of the submision guidlines click here.