Books :: Nilsen Literary Prize for a First Novel

Southeast Missouri State University Press’s annual Nilsen Literary Prize for a First Novel awards a $2,000 prize to winners, publication, and an invitation to read at the University.

James Tate Hill’s winning Academy Gothic was published this past October. The novel follows Tate Cowlishaw after finding the dead body of Scoot Simkins, dean of Parshall College.

From the publisher’s website:

Suspects aren’t hard to come by at the college annually ranked ‘Worst Value’ by U.S. News & World Report. While the faculty brace for a visit from the accreditation board, Cowlishaw’s investigation leads him to another colleague on eternal sabbatical. Before long, his efforts to save his job become efforts to stay alive. A farcical tale of incompetence and corruption, Academy Gothic scathingly redefines higher education as it chronicles the last days of a dying college.

Head over to the Southeast Missouri State University Press website to watch the Academy Gothic book trailer, read more about Hill’s first novel, and order a copy.