First Novelist Award

About the Award

The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award honors an outstanding debut novel published in the preceding calendar year. Symbolized by a three-dimensional compass, the award is a tribute to writers who have navigated their way through the maze of imagination and delivered a great read, taking the reader someplace new.

Winning novelists have written books that may be funny or sad, sarcastic or heartrending, but each is powerful enough in its own way to have moved initial readers and final judges toward the conclusion that, among a field of roughly a hundred submissions annually, its writer has achieved something notable and enduring.

How the Award Works

The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award honors an outstanding debut novel published in the preceding calendar year. Unique among debut novel awards, the CFNA deeply involves the VCU and broader Richmond communities, especially VCU Libraries and the VCU Department of English’s MFA in Creative Writing program. 

Symbolized by a three-dimensional compass, the award is a tribute to debut novelists who have navigated their way through the complex worlds of imagination to arrive at a moving contribution to the literary arts. Each year, the winning author visits VCU for a celebratory reading and to offer their perspective on the writing and publishing process to the VCU and Richmond communities. 

Now over two decades old, the Award has honored a wide range of novels and their authors since its inception in 2002. At present, volunteer readers, MFA candidates, and a final judging panel each work to help narrow the field and select a winner from approximately 200 annual submissions. 

Winning novelists have written books that may be funny or sad, sarcastic or heartrending, but each is powerful enough in its own way to have moved readers toward the conclusion that the author has achieved something notable and enduring.

For information about past winners, please see https://firstnovelist.vcu.edu/winners/

For information on how to submit a book as an agent, editor, or author, please visit https://firstnovelist.vcu.edu/submit-a-novel/

If you are a VCU or Richmond community member looking to get involved, please reach out to our Cabell First Novelist Award Fellow at cabellfn@vcu.edu