Please make sure you have read the rules of the Book Edit Writers’ Prize and that you meet our eligibility criteria

 Eligibility

• The competition is open to unpublished novelists. This means you must not have published a novel nor have a novel accepted for publication in any country, in print or online, independently, traditionally or self-published.

• To submit to the competition you must not currently have a literary agent.

• The competition is open to all unpublished British and/or UK-based novelists from backgrounds and communities currently under-represented in UK publishing. (See FAQs for more detail on what we mean by this)

• You must be over 18 years of age to enter.

Rules of the competition

• Your submission must be the first 1000 words from a completed first draft of a novel. This is to ensure that if you are one of the winners and find that you get interest from an agent at the showcase, you are in a position to make the most of that opportunity. Please do not enter if you are at the early stages of your novel.

• Your entry must be your own original work and must be written in English.

• We accept novel entries in all genres, including Young Adult, but NOT children’s books.

• Please use 12 point font, double space your work, make sure your pages are numbered, and put the title of the novel on every page, all of which is industry standard.

• Your entry must be sent via our form at the bottom of the general Writers’ Prize 2024 page.

• Name each of your attached files on the form (first 1000 words, synopsis and bio) with the title of your work only, NOT your name, so submissions can be judged anonymously. 

• Please attach your documents as a word (doc. or docx.) or Pdf file. Please do not send links to Onedrive or GDrive files. 

• You must include a synopsis (maximum 500 words) with your entry.

• Please include in your bio a brief note on your writing experience to date.

• Please also include where you heard about the prize.

DOS AND DON’TS

Here's a list of dos and don'ts to help writers navigate the requirements for the Book Edit Writers' Prize:

DOS:

• Do ensure you're an unpublished novelist (no previous novel publications in any format, e.g. ebook, self-published, indie or traditional publisher))

• Do confirm you're British and/or UK-based

• Do confirm you are from a community currently underrepresented in UK publishing (see FAQs for more details)

• Do make sure you're over 18 years old

• Do submit the first 1000 words of a completed draft of your novel

• Do use 12-point font, double-spaced, with numbered pages and the title on every page

• Do include a synopsis (max 500 words) and a brief bio with your writing experience

• Do submit via the form on the Writers' Prize 2024 page

• Do name your files with the title of your work only (for anonymity)

• Do attach documents as Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF files

• Do mention where you heard about the prize

DON'TS:

• Don't submit if you've ever published a novel (including self-published or independently published)

• Don't enter if you currently have a literary agent

• Don't submit if your novel is in the early stages or incomplete

• Don't include your name on any of the submitted documents. If you do, you will be disqualified.

• Don't send links to cloud storage (like OneDrive or Google Drive)

• Don't submit children's books (YA is acceptable)

• Don't exceed the word limits for the novel excerpt (1000 words) or synopsis (500 words)

• Don't forget to include all required elements (novel excerpt, synopsis, and bio)

• Don't submit via email or any method other than the official form

• Don't expect individual feedback if not selected (judges' decisions are final)

Please remember, this prize is specifically for unpublished novelists. Any previous novel publication, including self-publishing or independent publishing, disqualifies you from entering. Ensure you follow all submission guidelines, especially regarding anonymity and file formats, to give your entry the best chance of consideration.

Important Information Regarding the Writers’ Prize

• Entries will be judged by the writer Lara Haworth, in conversation with The Book Edit’s Emily Pedder and Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone. The judges’ decisions are final and the selection team are not able to comment on individual entries.

• By entering, you confirm that you are eligible to do so and eligible to claim any prize you may win. The Book Edit may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the competition.

• By entering the competition you also agree to give The Book Edit permission to publish your entry in the online anthology and to promote you and your work at the showcase and through marketing activity on the website and via social media channels. The winning and shortlisted writers will also be asked to submit a headshot and short author biography to be used for the showcase, anthology and promotional activity by The Book Edit.

• Copyright remains with the author.

• Entry to the competition implies acceptance of the rules and eligibility criteria as listed on this site.

• The Book Edit has good connections with many of the top literary agencies (e.g. The Ampersand Agency, Curtis Brown, Felicity Bryan, The Good Literary Agency, The Soho Agency, Greene and Heaton, David Higham, The Ruppin Agency, United Agents), and will endeavour to invite as many Association of Author’s Agents as possible to the showcase. As with any event, however, attendance cannot be guaranteed and, in the unlikely event of a low turnout, unfortunately we will not be able to reschedule the showcase.

• While the ambition for the Writers’ Prize is that the showcase opens doors for the winning writers and helps forge connections between those writers and literary agents, connections which ultimately lead to the publication of their work, there are, of course, no guarantees that this will happen. We will do all we can to put the winning writers in front of the right people, and to give them the best possible chance of a real shot at being noticed by the industry, but it would clearly be remiss of us to promise that any of the winning writers will be signed by an agent. Although we very much hope they will, and many winners have done gone on to do so.

• We will treat all information and submissions with the utmost confidentiality and will destroy all entries once the competition and showcase have concluded.

FAQs about the Writers’ Prize