The UNM General Library is issuing a call for submissions from Chicana and Chicano writers for the Premio Atzlán. The Library is reviving the literary prize, which was initially established by Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya. Rudolfo Anaya, an emeritus professor of English at UNM is considered by many to be the father of contemporary Chicano fiction.
The literary award lapsed a few years ago. Now a committee will work with Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya to reward a published author best able to put together plot, language, landscape, tone, and a sense of cultural community.
The competition is open to writers who have published a work of fiction in the 2004 calendar year and who have written no more than two books. Anaya says he and his wife started the prize as a way to nurture novice writers. “Premios are important in Latin America. People pay attention,” he said.
When Rudolfo Anaya began publishing fiction in New Mexico, he won a literary award that encouraged him to keep writing. Anaya says, “So many times, writers after one or two books give up, because they think no one appreciates their work.”
The winner of the $1,000 prize will be asked to give a reading at the UNM General Library during April 2005. Publishers should submit a letter of nomination. Writers should submit a letter of interest. Anyone wishing to enter the competition should send appropriate contact information and five copies of the book by December 31, 2004 to:
Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya Premio Atzlán, Literary Prize
General Library, Dean’s Office
MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
87131-1466
For more information about the competition, contact Dina Ma’ayan, dinam@unm.edu
Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya have a long association with the library, and earlier this year made a significant donation of his original manuscripts to the Center for Southwest Research. General Library Associate Professor Theresa Marquez who is helping coordinate the competition says, “By continuing this program, it brings attention to what we have within the collections in terms of Chicano literature.”
For Anaya, the prize is just a way to get a message to writers. “Your work is important,” he says. “Keep it up.”
Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627.