ALMA — Students and alumni in the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing program at Alma College will have an opportunity to earn a book contract in a new, annual contest that opens in January.

The Alma College MFA Book Award is being held in partnership with Running Wild Publishing, a small press whose books have been named “Best of the Year” by the book review magazine Kirkus Reviews. The winner — to be chosen solely from MFA program students and alumni — will receive an up-front prize of $200, as well as a contract from Running Wild, including an offer of net revenue of 40 percent for paperback, ebook, and audiobook sales.

“Through the MFA program, we’re looking to give our students not only experience, but also powerful opportunities,” said Sophfronia Scott, author and director of the college’s MFA program. “For that reason, we’re proud to partner with Running Wild, which is well-known in the publishing industry as a quality small press that produces beautiful work and competes for major awards. It’s a tremendous opportunity for any MFA student, and one that we’re very excited to offer here at Alma.”

Submissions for the contest open Jan. 2, 2025, and will close on June 2, 2025. Selections will be announced Aug. 25, 2025, at the MFA program’s summer residency, in Oxford, England. Finalists will be selected and judged by the acquisition editors of Running Wild and RIZE, a Running Wild imprint. Submissions should be a book length manuscript of at least 50,000 words for fiction or nonfiction. Narrative poetry will also be accepted.

For Running Wild, a great deal of motivation to hold the contest comes from a desire to find up-and-coming talent, explained Lisa Diane Kastner, the publishing company’s founder and executive editor.

“A lot of our mission is to change the world through story and the way we do that is by finding these new voices — so the world can not only hear them, but be enthralled by them,” she said. “We’re looking for great storytelling and use of craft, and we believe the Alma College MFA program produces just that.”

Beginning Jan. 2, awards can be submitted at runningwildpress.submittable.com/submit. For more information on the Alma College MFA program, visit alma.edu/mfa.