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YA

The Imagined Futures

Information

Closing date: 
9 September 2022
Entry: 
YA writers resident in the UK or Ireland. No entry fee
Prize: 
The first prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Faber and a £15,000 advance, while the second and third prizes also receive publishing contracts with advances of £8,000 and £5,000 respectively.

Faber has launched The Imagined Futures, a new YA science fiction prize aimed at finding stories that 'offer hope and spark the imagination in this period of incredible global and environmental change'. It is looking for fiction that shines a spotlight on the power and value of the natural world and explores the potential outcomes for our collective future.  Read more

2022 Times/Chicken House writing competition

Information

Closing date: 
1 June 2022
Entry: 
fee Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Louise Lamont at LBA Books, Second Prize a £7,500 publishing contract plus an offer of representation

Now the biggest children's writing competition in the UK, the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition has been running for 12 years and has kickstarted the careers of many of the most established writers for both children and adults in the UK - including Jasbinder Bilan (Costa-winning author of Asha & the Spirit Bird), SJ Bennett (The Windsor Knot) and Nicki Thornton (The Last Ch  Read more

Chicken House Open Coop

Information

Closing date: 
20 September 2021
Entry: 
Open to writers of children’s novels for 7 up including YA. No entry fee
Prize: 
Mentoring

24-hour open submissions period window will be open on 20 September only

The day is for finished or unfinished novels for children aged 7 up to (and including) YA, and offers the chance to gain mentorship from a member of the editorial team.  Read more

Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize

Information

Closing date: 
3 May 2021
Entry: 
International entry. No entry fee
Prize: 
Adult Fiction prize and a Young Adult /Middle Grade prize. First Prize Publication contract offer from Leapfrog Press and Can of Worms Press with advance against royalties, Second Prize $150 and critiques

Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize

*Open for submissions until May 3rd*

The first Leapfrog Fiction Prize was established in 2009 as an additional means of discovering new writing. This year, we have rebranded the contest the Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize and have split the competition into two, providing both an Adult Fiction prize and a Young Adult /Middle Grade prize.  Read more

The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prizes 2021

Information

Closing date: 
7 March 2021
Entry: 
Open to writers of any nationality writing in English Entry fee for Best Unpublished Novel £49
Prize: 
£15,000 for Best Unpublished Novel, an advance on a publishing deal with Bonnier and £10,000 for Best Published Novel

Submissions for the two 2021 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prizes are now open. The international prize is now in its sixth year. Entries are accepted from writers of any nationality, writing in English. The deadline is 7 March.  Read more

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2020

Information

Closing date: 
15 May 2021
Entry: 
Unpublished and unagented writers of children’s fiction suitable for children/young adults aged somewhere between 7 and 18 years. No entry fee
Prize: 
A worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000, plus an offer of representation from a top literary agent

Enter The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition  Read more

Mslexia Fiction & Memoir Competition 2020

Information

Closing date: 
21 September 2020
Entry: 
Open to women writers only from across the world with unpublished manuscripts (self-published work allowed) Entry fees - various
Prize: 
Various


Short Story

For complete short stories in any genre for adult /young adult women writers.
First Prize 3,000 plus optional week at an Arvon writing centre
Entry fee 310

Flash Fiction

Fr complete short fiction narratives in any genre for adults and/or young adult readers
First Prize £500
Entry fee £5

Children's & YA novel  Read more

Guppy YA Novel Competition Open Submission

Information

Closing date: 
15 May 2020
Entry: 
Unagented YA authors from all over the world No entry fee
Prize: 
Publication

GUPPY YA NOVEL COMPETITION - OPEN SUBMISSIONS MAY 2020!

From 11th to 15th May 2020, Guppy Books will be unbolting the portholes and welcoming submissions of young adult fiction from unagented writers. We are looking for an exciting and fresh new voice in young adult writing.
  Read more

Wicked Young Writers 2020

Information

Closing date: 
2 March 2020
Entry: 
5-25 year-olds writers in the UK. No entry fee
Prize: 
Each winner gets four tickets to see the London production of WICKED at the Apollo Victoria Theatre + meet cast members after the show along with an exclusive backstage tour and £50 worth of books/eBooks tokens to spend.

The Wicked Young Writers Awards has announced that entries are open for its 10th anniversary year. Created by the producers of the musical Wicked in partnership with the National Literacy TrustUK-based organisation which has campaigned since 1993 to improve literacy standards across all age groups. Excellent research information and details of the many initiatives the charity is currently involved in. www.literacytrust.org.uk. It also has a useful page of news stories on UK literacy, which links to newsletter http://www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx, the annual national writing competition is for 5 to 25-year-olds, and is intended "to reward excellence in creative writing and encourage young people to find their own voice".  Read more

The Booklife Prize 2019

Information

Closing date: 
31 August 2019
Entry: 
Authors with unpublished or self-published novels in 5 categories Entry fee $99
Prize: 
Grand Prize $5,000, category finalists a social media marketing package from BookBaby worth $1,000

The first round of the annual writing contest sponsored by BookLife and Publishers WeeklyInternational news website of book publishing and bookselling including business news, reviews, bestseller lists, commentaries http://www.publishersweekly.com/ kicked off on April 1.

The BookLife Prize is back and and looking for the next great novel.

Now in its fourth year, the BookLife Prize - a writing contest sponsored by Publishers Weekly and BookLife - will be accepting submissions for its Fiction Contest till August 31, 2019.  Read more

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The Selfies Book Awards UK 2023

Information

Closing date: 
3 January 2023
Entry: 
Authors who have self-published adult fiction, children’s books or adult memoirs/autobiography in the UK between January and December 2022. Entry fee: £35 per title to include a six-month subscription to Bookbrunch
Prize: 
£750 cash prize for each category plus other prizes

For the fifth year running the hugely popular Selfies Book Awards - powered by UK trade journal BookBrunch and sponsored by Ingram Spark® - will again reward three self-published authors for their publishing excellence. Submissions are now open for indie authors who have published an adult autobiography/memoir, adult fiction or children's book during 2022.
  Read more

'Writing is a strange synthesis between the two parts of your mind: the analytical side and the side that knows nothing at all, and you have to allow the dreaming side free rein.'

— Rose Tremain

Worldbuilding 2: the basics of writing fantasy fiction

Sun, 04/12/2022 - 2:30pm
The basics of writing fantasy fiction

Fantasy fiction is a niche market, but a very popular niche market. It is particularly popular among new writers, and I suspect this is a consequence of growing up on a diet of best-selling fantasy fiction over the last couple of decades. In this article, I will look at the differences between writing fantasy fiction and other genres, and also the similarities.  Read more

Worldbuilding 1: Character names in fantasy novels

Mon, 21/11/2022 - 6:34pm
Character names in fantasy novels

One of the more rewarding - and difficult - things about writing a fantasy novel is having the opportunity to create and describe a world different from our own; one where magic is real, where non-human beings interact with us, and where reality has a shape and texture that is anything but mundane.  Read more

21 November 2022 - What's new

November 2022
  • ‘The TikTok success stories of Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry have done the genre a wonderful favour by putting romance firmly in a spotlight so bright that their popularity cannot be ignored...
  Read more