The Authors Guild and literary journal Epiphany magazine have partnered to launch the Breakout 8 Writers Prize, established to "recognize outstanding emerging literary voices and bring visibility to the writers of our future by honoring eight student authors." Eligibility for the prize is restricted to graduate and undergraduate college and university students.

Eight honorees have been selected by judges Hannah Tinti, Alexander Chee, and Epiphany editor-in-chief Tracy O’Neill. In addition to being published in a special issue of Epiphany, each winner will receive a host of prizes including $250 in cash; a year-long mentorship with O’Neill; and a one-year student membership to the Authors Guild.

The winners of the inaugural prize are: Yuxi Lin, Jiaming Tang, Alisson Wood, Amber Wheeler Bacon, Marc Castel de Lucas, Rasheeda Saka, Edith Lee, and Amy Lee Lillard. Click here for their biographies and more information.