Forsberg Prize for Fiction
The Forsberg Prize for Fiction supports an outstanding work of original Fiction.
This yearly prize includes publication by Avalon Park Press.
The winning author will receive 20 copies of the book and a publication contract.
Avalon Park Press is pleased
to announce the winner of the
inaugural 2025 Forsberg Prize for Fiction:
Future Perfect
by Matthew James Babcock
Future Perfect is a collection of short stories exploring the complexities of human relationships and the passing of time.
Each story considers milestones of life: childhood, growing up, adulthood, death. Future Perfect invites us to detach from linear time and to observe the minute and grand moments all at once.
Future Perfect will be available for purchase in early 2026.
Matthew James Babcock is the author of Four Tales of Troubled Love (fiction), Heterodoxologies (creative nonfiction), Points of Reference (poetry), Strange Terrain (poetry), Hidden Motion (poetry), and Private Fire: The Ecopoetry and Prose of Robert Francis (criticism). His awards include the Juxtaprose Poetry Prize, a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Award, the AML Poetry Award, the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Short Fiction, and Winner of Press 53’s Open Awards Anthology Prize for his novella, “He Wanted to be a Cartoonist for The New Yorker.” He recently served as Arthur Dolsen Visiting Writer at Idaho State University.
“If there’s a book that you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
-Toni Morrison
At Avalon Park Press, we believe the best fiction has not been written yet.
Human creativity is endless. We are seeking works of fiction that imagine different ways of living and perspectives that tell a unique story.
Book length manuscripts of at least 100 pages can be submitted for the 2026 Forsberg Prize for Fiction via Submittable from January 15, 2026 to February 15, 2026.
Initial screening for the prize will be facilitated by the editors of Avalon Park Press. The winner will be announced Summer 2026.
Eligibility
We aim to offer a top-tier, ethical book prize that will not just offer publication but also high quality design and step-by-step advising throughout the publishing and distribution process.
For the 2026 prize, we will accept online submissions of book length manuscripts on January 15, 2026. The final due date is February 15, 2026. The prize winner will be announced in Summer 2026.
To be eligible for the prize, authors cannot have published, or have under contract, more than one full length book of fiction.
Self-published books count as previous book publications if they include at least 48 pages and were distributed. This includes publication on Amazon or if the book has an ISBN.
Authors must write in English. Entrants to the Forsberg Prize are welcome to submit to other book prizes. Please notify us if your manuscript wins another prize; we will promptly withdraw your manuscript from the Forsberg Prize.
Manuscripts can include work from previously published literary periodicals, however please include an acknowledgement page if applicable.
The following genres are ineligible for the prize:
Non-Fiction
Children’s Books
Self-Help or Tutorials
Poetry
All entrants are asked to pay a $25 reading fee. All proceeds go towards publication of the winning work and maintenance of Avalon Park Press.