DILIM Press incl. Anthology of Dark Fiction from the Philippine Diaspora: Luz-Silva Literary Prize Gold Star Program Gold Star Fee: usd $20.00

The Luz-Silva Literary Fiction Prize opens September 1 through September 15.

The contest is open to anyone with a tie to the Philippines who is writing in English.

Eligibility: we are seeking prose fiction manuscripts: your novella, novel, short story collection, experimental work or other prose is welcome.

The 2026-2027 theme is "Food."

If your book references delicious dishes, a banquet fit for royalty, a wet kitchen situation, dining figuring prominently in at least one scene, a feast of the datus or protein bites for our aswang in orbit, or a kamayan or celebratory meal, please consider sending. We also consider other manuscripts.

We're seeking literary fiction: focusing on characters, themes, style, and language.

We are not seeking commercial or genre fiction for this prize.

The maximum word count is 90,000 words and the primary language is English.

At this time, please send us your query and the first three chapters (or any 35 pages) of the manuscript.

Further Rules:

• Individual pieces from the manuscript may have been published previously in magazines, chapbooks of fewer than 48 pages, personal blog posts, Substacks, or anthologies; however, the work in its entirety must be unpublished.
  
• Agented manuscripts are not eligible.
  
• Employees, board members, or close family members of the Luz and Silva families are not eligible.
  
• Translations are not eligible.
  
• Former winners are not eligible.
  
• To avoid conflicts of interest, close friends of a judge or current students in a degree-granting program with a named judge are not eligible.
  
• Writers may submit multiple submissions, each with its own submission fee.
  
• We do not allow simultaneous submissions. Allow us the opportunity to review your work for suitability within the submissions period.
  
• We work collaboratively with our accepted authors to build a beautifully-produced print version
  
• We invest in our authors’ success.

We look forward to your submission.