2009 Joseph Henry Jackson, James Duval Phelan & Mary Tanenbaum Awards

These awards, sponsored by The San Francisco Foundation and administered by Intersection for the Arts, are offered annually to promising young California writers. There is no entry fee to apply for $6,000 total in awards.

The postmark deadline for the 2009 Awards is
March 31, 2009.

We will be announcing the winners for the 2009 Awards by October 2009.

GUIDELINES
Eligibility Criteria
Under the terms of the trusts, the awards are intended to encourage young writers of an unpublished manuscript that is completed or in-progress. All applicants must, therefore, be between 20 and 35 years of age on March 31, 2009.

Joseph Henry Jackson Award
Applicants for the 52nd annual Joseph Henry Jackson Award must be residents of and currently living in northern California (anywhere in California north of the line dividing Monterery County from San Luis Obispo County) or the state of Nevada for three consecutive years immediately prior to the March 31 contest deadline. The unpublished work-in-progress submitted may be fiction (novel or short stories), nonfictional prose, graphic novel, or poetry.

James Duval Phelan Award
Applicants for the 72nd annual James D. Phelan Award must have been born in the state of California but need not be current residents. The unpublished work-in-progress submitted may be fiction (novel or short stories), nonfictional prose, poetry, graphic novel, or drama. Plays may be submitted in standard script format.

Mary Tanenbaum Award for Nonfiction
The Mary Tanenbaum Award recognizes outstanding nonfictional prose. Applicants must be residents of and currently living in northern California (anywhere in California north of the line dividing Monterery County from San Luis Obispo County) for three consecutive years immediately prior to the March 31 contest deadline.

Application Procedure
Eligible writers may submit one application form and three copies of a single manuscript to apply for one, two, or all three awards. We will only accept one application and three copies of a single manuscript per writer. There is no application fee. No candidate may win more than one award. Previous winners are ineligible to receive the same award again. Winners will be announced by October 2009. Judges reserve the right to make no awards if, in their view, no manuscripts are worthy.

Contest Deadline
Applications and manuscripts for the 2009 awards will be accepted beginning January 16, 2009. Only submissions received via U.S. or International mail or courier services will be accepted. You may NOT hand-deliver your submission. Without exception, all submissions must bear an official U.S. or International mail or courier service postmark and be postmarked by March 31, 2009. Do not assume that submissions dropped in a mailbox will be stamped with a timely postmark.

Manuscript Requirements
1) Manuscripts must be completely unpublished in its entirety or any parts contained therein. The manuscript must be no longer than 30 (thirty) numbered, double-spaced pages (poetry need not be double-spaced), typed or printed on white 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper. For clarification: manuscripts cannot exceed 30 numbered pages maximum - not 30 double-sided pages, which would be 60 pages total. Manuscripts which are handwritten or are otherwise illegible will not be considered. Please bind manuscripts only with paper or binder clips; please do not use folders.

2) The award judges will use a name-blind process. Manuscripts should be copied on the front and back of each page, and must include a separate cover page that gives the work's title and the length of the manuscript. The applicant's name and address should NOT appear anywhere on the manuscripts submitted for consideration. Applicants may, however, use the manuscript's title and page numbers on the pages of the manuscript. Manuscripts with inappropriate identifying information will be deemed ineligible.

3) No application will be accepted without the applicant's signature, signifying agreement to the conditions of the competition and verifying the validity of all statements contained therein. Proof of birth, age, and residence may be required and must be furnished within ten days if requested; please do not send or include this information with your application.

4) Award-winning manuscripts become the property of The San Francisco Foundation and will become part of the Foundation's permanent archives located at the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. Authors will retain full rights for the publication/distribution of their works.

5) Manuscripts submitted will not be returned. At the end of the competition, non-winning manuscripts will be recycled.

FINAL CHECKLIST FOR SUBMISSIONS
1) Complete the online Application Form for the 2009 Jackson, Phelan and Tanenbaum Literary Awards by clicking here. Note: You must be connected to the internet the entire time you are completing this form. You must complete and submit your application in one session.

2) Mail the following information to the address below (postmark on envelope must be no later than March 31, 2009):
a) Printed copy of your email confirmation of your online submission.
b) Three copies (double-sided) of manuscript (30 pages maximum, not 30 double-sided pages). NOTE: No name on manuscript.
c) Self-addressed stamped postcard for confirmation of receiving manuscript (optional).

Send this information to:
Literary Awards
c/o Intersection for the Arts
446 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

CELEBRATION
Awardees will be celebrated at The San Francisco Foundation Art Awards event and at an Award Winners' Reading at Intersection for the Arts in Fall 2009.

ABOUT THE NAMESAKES OF THE AWARDS
Joseph Henry Jackson was born in Madison, New Jersey. After attending college and serving in the armed forces during World War I, he came to California. He joined the staff of Sunset Magazine, where he was editor from 1926 through 1928. In 1930, he became literary editor for The San Francisco Chronicle, continuing in that role for the rest of his career and gaining national prominence. He was also the author or editor of some dozen books; many of them, such as Anybody's Gold (1941), were concerned with California's history. Jackson served on many literary boards, including those for the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Harper Prize Novel, and the Pulitzer Prize. In his book columns and by personal contact, he was always interested in discovering and encouraging new writers. Appropriately, his friends established the Joseph Henry Jackson Award after his death in 1955.

James Duval Phelan was born in San Francisco, the son of a Forty-Niner. He graduated from St. Ignatius College in his native city and studied law for a year at the University of California before entering the family banking business. In 1897, Phelan ran for Mayor of San Francisco; he was elected and twice re-elected, gaining a great reputation for drafting a new city charter and beautifying the city through new parks and playgrounds. Later elected to the US Senate, he served from 1915 to 1921. During his lifetime, Phelan encouraged and financially aided writers, artists, and musicians, for whom he also provided very generously through his will after his death in 1930.

Mary Tanenbaum began her career as a journalist after her graduation from Stanford in 1936. Her first job was book reviewing with Joseph Henry Jackson for The San Francisco Chronicle; her articles on books, travel, fashion, and personalities have appeared in the Chronicle, The New York Times, The New York Herald-Tribune, and The Christian Science Monitor. The Tanenbaum Award was made permanent in 2000 by her husband Charles in memory of Mrs. Tanenbaum's legacy as an author.

ABOUT THE ART AWARDS PROGRAM AT
THE SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION
The San Francisco Foundation is proud to sponsor a variety of art awards to nurture individual creativity. The Foundation mobilizes resources and acts as a catalyst for change to build strong communities, foster civic leadership, and promote philanthropy. For more information and guidelines about how to apply for art awards, please visit The San Francisco Foundation's website by clicking here.

Visual & Media Arts
Fund for Artists
James D. Phelan Art Award in Photography
James D. Phelan Art Award in Printmaking
James D. Phelan Art Award in Film and Video
Murphy Fellowships in the Fine Arts
Cadogan Fellowships in the Fine Arts
John Gutmann Photography Fellowship
Bay Area Documentary Fund

Literary Arts
Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award
James D. Phelan Literary Award
Mary Tanenbaum Literary Award

Performing Arts
Shenson Performing Arts Fellowship

Community Leadership Awards
Helen Crocker Russell Award