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Writing Opportunities 2023

The Rubery Prize 2023

Information
Closing date: 
31 March 2023
Entry: 
Open to all writers internationally who have published their work through a small press or self-published their work Entry fee £44
Prize: 
First Prize is £2,000 plus £200 for three category winners

The Rubery Prize is a prestigious international book award seeking the best books by indie writers, self published authors and books published by independent presses, judged by reputable judges. Creative writing is such a key part of life for those who enjoy writing yet it is increasingly difficult to become traditionally published. Through our reputation of finding quality and outstanding books we aim to bring recognition to the works that win and heighten an author's profile.

The Rubery Prize is a well-established name in the publishing world.

It is open to all writers internationally and is awarded to a book published in print or ebook form. Books published by independent presses and self published books are eligible to enter

We accept fiction (all genres), young adult, children's, biographies, non-fiction, self-help, cookery, poetry, photography etc. There are no limits on the type.

Judges

Narinder Dhami and Clare Morrall.

For more details

 

Gingko Prize for Ecopoetry 2023

Information
Closing date: 
25 March 2023
Entry: 
Open to all poets from across the world over the age of 18. Entry fee: first submission £7 then £4 for each additional poem
Prize: 
First prize £5,000, second prize £2,000 and third prize £1,000

The Ginkgo Prize for Ecopoetry is a major international award for poems embracing ecological themes.

The first prize is £5,000, second prize is £2,000 and third prize is £1,000, with an additional £500 prize for the ‘Best Poem of Landscape' sponsored by the AONB family.

Open to all poets of 18 and over from all over the world. Poems don't need to address a specific theme, but should in some way - thematically, structurally, linguistically or formally - investigate ecology, the environment, or the relationship between human culture and the natural world.


Our Judges

The judges are Linda Gregerson, Sean Hewitt and Karen McCarthy Woolf

The Prize aims to highlight the role poetry can play in raising awareness, gaining insight, and provoking concern for the ecological imperatives of our time.

For more details

The BBC National Short Story Award 2023

Information
Closing date: 
13 March 2023
Entry: 
British nationals and UK residents, aged 18 years or over. No entry fee
Prize: 
Winner £15,000 plus 4 shortlisted authors £600

 The BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000, and four further shortlisted authors £600 each.

Enter a story of no more than 8,000 words.

Reeta Chakrabarti is chair of the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University (NSSA) judging panel, alongside bestselling novelist Jessie Burton; Booker Prize wining author Roddy Doyle; author and creative writing lecturer Okechukwu Nzelu; and returning judge Di Speirs, books editor at BBC Radio.

The stories are broadcast on Radio 4 and available to listen to on BBC Sounds, and also published in an anthology by Comma Press. The 2022 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Saba Sams, and previous alumni of the award include Zadie Smith, Hilary Mantel, Jon McGregor, Ingrid Persaud, Cynan Jones, Sarah Hall, Lucy Caldwell and Jo Lloyd.

This is the awards' third year in partnership with Cambridge University.

The entry deadline for the BBC National Short Story Award is 13 March.

More details

Primadonna Prize

Information
Closing date: 
13 March 2023
Entry: 
Unpublished authors 18 years old or over resident in the UK. Entry fee £8
Prize: 
Book contract with HQ with advance of £7,500 and agent representation

The Primadonna Prize for unsigned and un-agented authors will, for the first time, offer the winner a book contract with HQ with an advance of £7,500 for world English rights.

The winner of the competition will also work with Alice Lutyens from Curtis BrownSee Curtis Brown listing to develop their shortlisted piece into a publishable book. There is a cash prize of £100 for the runner-up, as well as a mentoring session with a member of the Primadonna team, which includes authors Kit de Waal and Catherine Mayer, agents Elise Dillsworth and Cathryn Summerhayes, and publisher Lisa Milton.

To enter the Primadonna Prize simply write 500 words of new writing (fiction) on the theme of ‘renewal' and email them, along with proof of payment of your £8 entry fee, to primadonnaprize.submissions@gmail.com.

Milton said of the prize launch: "We're incredibly proud to offer one brilliant writer the chance to go from unsigned to published through our fiction prize. Average annual earnings for UK authors are around the £6,000 mark, so the winner will already be a step ahead when they sign their contract. It's really exciting for us to enable raw talent to come through in this way: it's what Primadonna is all about."

This year's judging panel comprises Milton and Lutyens, alongside author Andi Osho, associate director of Ed Public Relations Shona Abhyankar, founder and chief executive of New Writing North Claire Malcolm MBE and writer Elissa Soave, who won the inaugural Primadonna Prize in 2019 and whose debut novel Ginger and Me was published by HQ in July 2022.

The Primadonna Prize comes from the team behind the Primadonna books festival, which will take place from 28th to 30th July 2023 at the Food Museum in Stowmarket, Suffolk.


More details