West Virginia University English professor and author Mark Brazaitis has been selected as the final judge for the Leapfrog Press Fiction Contest. The contest, which typically receives more than 500 entries from around the world, is open to book-length manuscripts of fiction (novels and short stories) written in English. The contest will open for entries on Jan. 15. The deadline is May 1.

As the final judge, Brazaitis will select a winner from up to half a dozen manuscripts selected as finalists by Leapfrog Press’ editors. The winning author will receive book publication plus an advance on royalties. Finalists will receive $150 each.

“I’m looking forward to it, although I anticipate it will be difficult not to select all the finalists as winners,” said Brazaitis, who also directs the West Virginia Writers’ Workshop.

Brazaitis is the author of six books, including “The Incurables: Stories,” winner of the 2012 Richard Sullivan Prize and the 2013 Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award in Prose, and “The River of Lost Voices: Stories from Guatemala,” winner of the 1998 Iowa Short Fiction Award. His latest book is the novel “Julia & Rodrigo,” a Romeo-and-Juliet story set in Guatemala during the country’s civil war.

Last year’s Leapfrog Press Fiction Contest drew 517 manuscripts from 49 states (all but North Dakota) and 16 countries: the United States, Canada, Columbia, the United Kingdom, Dominica, France, Australia, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Germany and Greece.

Leapfrog Press was founded in 1993 by writers Marge Piercy and Ira Wood with a mission to “search out, publish and aggressively market books that tell a strong story.”

For more information on the Leapfrog Press Fiction Contest, see: http://www.leapfrogpress.com/contest.htm

For more information, contact Mark Brazatis, at (304) 293-9707 or Mark.Brazaitis@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

mb/11/22/13

CONTACT: Mark Brazaitis, English Professor
304-293-9707, Mark.Brazaitis@mail.wvu.edu

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