The Masters Review's Novel Excerpt Contest enters its sixth consecutive year as a dedicated space for the novel-in-progress, recognizing that the form demands sustained labor and that its excerpts must function as self-contained literary artifacts. This submission category is reserved exclusively for marginalized or historically underrepresented writers, a deliberate curatorial constraint that redirects attention and resources toward voices that have been systematically underserved by traditional publishing pipelines. The contest is open to all genres, though the editors state a primary interest in literary fiction. The judge for the 2026 cycle is Chinelo Okparanta, author of Under the Udala Trees and the forthcoming This Impossible Life. Okparanta's own fiction is known for its formal clarity, emotional precision, and engagement with questions of identity, exile, and desire. Her presence as judge signals an interest in excerpts that operate with narrative confidence and stylistic control, not merely as fragments of a larger whole. The winning excerpt will receive a $3,000 prize, and the contest carries no entry fee for this category, removing a common economic barrier for writers from marginalized communities. The Masters Review has positioned this contest as a recurring commitment rather than a one-off gesture. The editors are explicit about what they seek: resonant narratives, memorable characters, a voice that is uniquely the author's own. Crucially, they ask for excerpts that stand alone, that do not require a synopsis to be understood. This is a curatorial standard worth noting. It favors excerpts with internal coherence, where scene, voice, and tension are fully realized on the page. The submission window runs from September 1 to November 8, 2026, with a final deadline of November 9, 2026.