Once again, our judges have finished their initial review of the 2021 Manuscript Project submissions. We're excited to announce the entries that comprise our semi-finalists for this year's contest. These manuscripts (listed below in alphabetical order by author last name) move on to compete for the top three finalist spots in the next round of judging. Congratulations to these Illinois writers and their work.

• They Left One Tree by Carl Armstrong

• Flash Drive by Donald J. Bingle

• Three's a Crowd by Ande Breunig

• Eastville by Chris Gerrib

• At First Sight by Deborah Kahn

• Veritas by Annemarie Mannion

• The Daughter of Ruin by Danny Sain

• The Lake House by Patti Sherry-Crews

• Westlanders by Meg White

Details about our Manuscript Project are found here.