The Breakout Prize brings visibility to the creators of our future by honoring and supporting outstanding college and graduate student writers. Winners have gone on to get agents, publish books, and discover new careers in publishing.
Two writers, one in prose and one in poetry, receive:
* A $1000 cash prize each
* Publication in a print issue of Epiphany
Follow us on Instagram, X, Bluesky, Threads, Facebook, or sign-up below to our email list to stay updated.
Our 2025 Breakout! Writers Prize is CLOSED for submissions. Our winners are Alice Liang in Poetry and Julia Oschwald Tilton in prose. Thank you to all who submitted and to our judges, Victoria Chang and Hilary Leichter.
- Sidney on what her writing means for our current moment
Sidney is currently working on her first novel. She is a graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of North Carolina at Greensboro. This year, she was chosen as one of ten writers in the United States to receive the PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship., the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
The 2026 Fresh Voices Fellowship is currently CLOSED for applications.
The Fresh Voices Fellowship supports one emerging Black, Indigenous, or other writer of color who does not have an advanced writing degree and is not currently enrolled in a degree-granting creative writing program. Our fellows have gone on to sign with agents, publish books, win prizes, and develop their careers in writing and publishing.
One writer, in poetry or prose, will receive:
A $2000 stipend
A year-long editorial fellowship at Epiphany, which entails the opportunity to participate in the editorial and publication process of a small non-profit literary magazine, and to build close relationships with the editorial team
Publication in a print issue of Epiphany
Because this opportunity is designed to support writers currently working outside traditional literary and academic systems, applicants must not have an advanced degree (MA, MFA, PhD) in creative writing or English and must not be enrolled at the time of application in any degree-granting program. A BA in Creative Writing or English is acceptable, as is a Masters or PhD in an unrelated field. Applicants must also not have published or be contracted to publish a full-length book (excluding self-publication). Applicants must also be based in or be living in the United States during the twelve-month fellowship.
Application Requirements:
1) Work Sample: Please include a 5-page, double-spaced sample of work you feel most represents you, your interests, and your literary style. (If you’re sending a novel excerpt, please include a short synopsis of the novel and an explanation of where, in the story, the excerpt falls.) This sample need not be unpublished.
2) Cover Letter: Please tell us a bit about yourself as an artist, your relationship to the mainstream literary/publishing world, and what you are hoping to gain by working in a literary magazine environment for a year.
Literary magazines like Epiphany are reliant on the work of volunteers, who are the front line for sorting through submissions and discovering gems. Becoming a reader at Epiphany is an opportunity to hone your editorial skills and deepen your understanding of the technical aspects of narrative and lyric. We believe that each submission deserves a careful reading, and readers join the Epiphany community in order to dive into and discuss a diversity of writing.
Epiphany functions as not just a publication but a living community. Subscribers become contributors become volunteer readers become editors. A friend may attend one of our events and become a subscriber, and the cycle continues!
Epiphany maintains a collaborative and transparent work environment. Our weekly editorial meetings are open to volunteer readers, who offer their opinions on and gain insight into our editorial process. We also host in-person events in NYC and elsewhere.
Please review the complete guidelines for volunteer readership. If you have any questions about volunteer reading, we are happy to answer.
To apply to join our team of readers, fill out this form.
