Taking Submissions: Cannon Publishing 2026 High Caliber New Writer Awards

Cannon Publishing is happy to announce the 2026 Third Annual High Caliber Awards for new writers!

• AWARDS

– First Prize $250

– Second Prize $150

– Third Prize $100

– Four honorable mention $50 each

– Publication in a contest winners anthology in Spring of 2026, with five free copies to each winner.

– Possibility of working with Cannon to expand your novella concept into a full length novel or even a shared universe. Please send us a complete stand alone story though!

The High Caliber Awards are judged by an independent panel of writers and people in the indie / small press publishing industry.

ACCEPTING WORKS IN THE FOLLOWING GENRES:

 Military Science Fiction

 Military Fantasy

 Military Thriller

 General Science Fiction

 High Fantasy (Tolkien, / Jordan etc)

 Urban Fantasy

 Sword & Sorcery Adventure

– Story length 10,000 to 15,000 words.

– Authors themselves must not have been published other than in short story format. This includes self published. Sites such as Royal Road must have materail removed before publishing.

– There are no requirements to fit any demographic as an author or include any specific demographic in the plot. Just tell a good story.

– All work must be human written. Any work that is even suspected of being AI will be rejected out of hand.

• SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (If you can’t follow them your entry will not be considered.)

– Email header ‘2026 High Caliber’

– Word Doc as attachment with story summary in email.

– TNR single space 12 pt

– Link to any Amazon Author Page or social media held by the author.

– Short author bio.

– Must be a previously unpublished work.

– Deadline is December 20th, 2025