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The Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award
The Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award at Interlochen is presented annually to a book that inspires, illuminates, or exemplifies the creative process in fields such as creative writing, dance, film and new media, music, theatre, and visual arts.
This inaugural award recognizes outstanding works of fiction or nonfiction. The winning author receives a $25,000 cash prize, and will conduct a multi-day residency at Interlochen Arts Academy and join the lineup of the National Writers Series in Traverse City, Michigan. Two runner-up awards of $2,500 may also be presented.
Details & Guidelines
- The award-winning author will receive a prize of $25,000.
- The award will be presented at a public event co-hosted by the National Writers Series in Traverse City, MI, in April 2025.
- The award-winner will participate in a 2-3 day residency at Interlochen Center for the Arts in April 2025. The scope and nature of this engagement will be created to suit the award winner.
- This prize recognizes the best of fiction or nonfiction literature that centers on the creative process of an artist or the arts—broadly defined—as its theme.
- Eligible books include full-length books of fiction and nonfiction or collections of short stories and/or essays by a single author.
- Books of poetry are not eligible.
- Works must be originally created in English and cannot be self-published.
- Eligible books must have a copyright date of 2022 or 2023.
- Books by current Interlochen Center for the Arts faculty or staff and books by authors who were members of Interlochen’s faculty or staff at the time the book was written are not eligible.
- We follow Community of Literary Magazines and Presses Guidelines for contests and are committed, in all we do, to the highest ethical standards. If you are a close personal friend, family member, student (outside of brief, one-off workshops), or if you have engaged the editing/consultation services of any Book Committee Member, or if you are a former or current intern or staff member of any Book Committee Member, please refrain from submitting. Email us at bookaward@interlochen.org if you have questions about eligibility.
The books considered for this award will inspire, illuminate, or exemplify the creative process in fields such as creative writing, dance, film and new media, music, theatre, and visual arts.
- Nominators must complete an award submission form for each book submitted.
- The entry form opens on October 16, 2023 and closes on June 1, 2024.
- There is no cost to submit a book for the award.
- The Selection Committee will be made up of representatives from Interlochen Center for the Arts and The National Writers Series.
- Finalists will be contacted in September 2024 for review copies. Interlochen will request from the publishers seven copies and a PDF of those books selected for further review. The winning author will be announced in November 2024 and will participate in an awards ceremony and residency at Interlochen in April 2025.
We are thrilled to partner with The Pattis Family Foundation to present this prestigious award celebrating outstanding literary works. Welcoming each of these distinguished authors to Interlochen’s campus to share their artistic process offers tremendous learning opportunities for our students and for our local community. It is an honor to add this award to our portfolio of offerings and we are deeply grateful to The Pattis Family Foundation for their generous collaboration.
Trey Devey, President of Interlochen Center for the Arts
Interlochen’s 46-Year Commitment to Creative Writing and 94 Years of Dedication to the Arts and Arts Education
Since establishing the nation's first music camp in 1928, Interlochen Center for the Arts has been the destination for young artists to transform their passion and potential into purpose. Located in beautiful northwest Michigan, Interlochen engages and inspires people worldwide through excellence in educational, artistic, and cultural programs, enhancing the quality of life through the universal language of the arts.
A true artist's retreat, Interlochen invites students grades 3-12, as well as adults of all ages, to engage in life-changing arts education programs designed to hone their skills and nurture their humanity. Interlochen is a global community united by passion, living, and learning within various practice, performance, and exhibition spaces in a 1,200-acre campus. Students study creative writing, music, theatre, visual arts, film and new media, dance, and interdisciplinary arts at Interlochen Arts Camp, Interlochen Arts Academy, and Interlochen Online.
Programs at Interlochen have contributed to the education of many accomplished writers, including the following Interlochen alumni:
- Beverly Gage, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century
- Brittany Cavallaro, New York Times bestselling author, Charlotte Holmes series
- Megan Baxter, poet, essayist, and author, The Coolest Monsters: Essays
- Garth Greenwell, author, What Belongs to You
- Margo Jefferson, author, Negroland: A Memoir; Professor, Columbia University; Pulitzer Prize-winner for criticism
- Angie Kim, author, Miracle Creek, Happiness Falls
- Katie Kitamura, author, A Separation
- Mary Oliver, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
- Doug Stanton, New York Times best-selling author and co-founder of Traverse City-based National Writers Series