The Spread the Word Life Writing Prize 2019
The Spread the Word London organisation running creative writing workshops for writers at all stages, with a focus on new writing and live literature, and encouraging innovation and experimentation. www.spreadtheword.org.uk
Open to emerging writers living in the UK aged 18 or over, the Prize was established to celebrate and develop life writing in the UK thanks to a generous donation from Joanna Munro.
Blake Morrison is Patron of the Prize.
Free to enter, the Prize aims to find the best life writing from emerging writers from across the UK. The Prize defines life writing as ‘intended to be true', reflects someone's own life journey or experiences and is not fiction.
Entries should be original works of life writing of no more than 5,000 words. There is no minimum word count.
The 2019 Life Writing Prize winner will receive £1,500, publication on Spread the Word's website, an Arvon course, two years' membership to the Royal Society of LiteratureThis British site may seem rather formal (stated aim ‘to sustain and encourage all that is perceived as best whether traditional or experimental in English letters, and to strive for a Catholic appreciation of literature’), but has a lively series of lectures and discussions involving distinguished authors. Also administers literary prizes. http://www.rslit.org/index1.html and a development meeting with an editor and an agent.
Two highly commended entries will each receive £500 and two mentoring sessions, a development meeting with an editor and an agent, and be published on the Spread the Word website. Three writers will be shortlisted, and six will be longlisted.
This year's judges are Colin Grant, Inua Ellams and Ros Barber.
