The San Francisco Foundation/Nomadic Literary Awards offer 20 winning writers ages 18–25 $2,500 per recipient for outstanding work in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.
Applicants must currently live in either Contra Costa, San Francisco, or Alameda counties. The Nomadic administers these awards with San Francisco Foundation. Judges will be announced soon!
Invitations for the SFF/Nomadic Press Literary Awards are open!
Invitations will be open March 15–April 15, 2025. Learn more about the awards and how to send your work at Nomadic Press.
Past Awardees
2023
Poetry
Carla Schick
Christell Victoria Roach
Vania Gutierrez
Nia McAllister
Nefertiti Asanti
Joshua Merchant
Mimi Tempestt
Fiction
Julián Delgado Lopera
Danny Thanh Nguyen
Non-fiction
Linda Norton
2022
Poetry
Reggie Edmonds
Carolyn Ho
Rick D’Elia
Anesha Grant
Jenny Qi
Dawn Angelicca Barcelona
t. johnston
Fiction
Lydia Kim
Olivia Peña
Non-fiction
Gabrielle Corona
2021
Poetry
Josiah Luis Alderete
Mae Ramirez
Lourdes Figueroa
Alan Chazaro
Camilo Garzón
Karla Clark
Leticia Hernández-Linares
MK Chavez
Cynthia Parker-Ohene
Susana Praver-Pérez
Fiction
Maya Sisneros
Lillian Giles
Dominica Phetteplace
Daniel Pearce
Zora Mai Quỳnh
Suzanne Rivecca
Devon Devine
Ngozi Oparah
Non-fiction
Janine Kovac
Ellie Bozmarova
About Our Donor: Joseph Henry Jackson
Joseph Henry Jackson (1894-1955) moved to California after World War I and was editor of Sunset Magazine from 1926-28. From 1924-1943 he hosted the radio program “Bookman’s Guide,” and from 1930 through the remainder of his career, he served as the literary editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, where he gained national prominence. Jackson also wrote and edited over a dozen books, many concerning California history. He served on several literary boards, including the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Harper Prize Novel and the Pulitzer Prize. Jackson was always interested in discovering and encouraging new writers. In his honor, his friends established the Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award for emerging writers in the Bay Area.
