Novel competitions 2023/2024

[Updated 6/9] I thought I’d do an updated list of novel competitons as these posts can get a bit unwieldy towards the end of the year. There’s a bit of everything here for writers of crime, sci-fi, children’s fiction and more, so hopefully something will be useful to you. It even includes some free competitions, which is great to see. I have my eye on a few things myself because a deadline or two might help keep me on course with my tricky second book. Not that I’m currently on any kind of recognisable course! It’s mostly typing words and then shouting at them.

As ever, please read all the T&Cs. I’m passing on the information I come across, but you have to be happy with what you’re signing up to. And best of luck!

• Novel Fair 2024
• Closing date: September 30
• Prizes: 12 finalists will be selected to take part in the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair in Dublin in February 2024, where they will pitch to agents, publishers and agents. They will also receive a place on a seminar on ‘How to Pitch Your Novel’ in advance of the Fair. Applicants who are longlisted and who do not proceed to the final 12 will receive a feedback report from the judging panel
• Judges: TBA
• Requirement: first 10,000 words of a novel (an additional 50,000 words will be requested if successful) and a synopsis
• Entry fee: €55 per entry, one entry only (members of the Irish Writers Centre €45). Open internationally

• The Plaza Science Fiction/Fantasy: First Chapters Competition
• Closing date: September 30
• Prizes: 1st place £1,000 and publication in The Plaza Prizes Anthology 2, plus a one-to-one tutorial and detailed feedback from the judge. 2nd place £300, 3rd place £100
• Judge: literary agent with The Soho Agency Ben Clark
• Requirement: first 5,000 words of a science fiction or fantasy novel plus a 300-word synopsis
• Entry fee: £16 for one entry, £8 for any subsequent entries. There are some free entry bursaries available to low-income writers, on application. Open internationally

Judge Kasim Ali

• Writers & Artists Yearbook Working-Class Writers’ Prize 2023
• Closing date: October 2
• Prizes: 1st place £200, mentoring sessions with judge Kasim Ali, access to a number of W&A writing and publishing events, one year’s membership to The Society of Authors, a writing guide bundle, and a selection of Bloomsbury fiction and non-fiction books. Four shortlisted entries will receive a writing guide bundle, one year’s membership to The Society of Authors, as well as support from the W&A team. All entries will receive feedback on their entry from the W&A team
• Judge: novelist Kasim Ali
• Requirement: first 2,000 words and a one-page synopsis. You must also include a short piece of writing (200 words) in the covering letter section of the online entry form about yourself and why this prize speaks to you
• Entry fee: free to enter. Open to writers in the UK and Ireland

• I Am In Print Novel Award 2023
• Closing date: October 9 (10am – I know, very strange time)
• Prizes: 1st place £1,000 and a 60-minute one-to-one with an editor from sponsors Canelo Digital Publishing. 2nd and 3rd place winners will have a 30 minute one-to-one with a Canelo editor
• Judges: the editorial team at Canelo
• Requirement: a full manuscript of 70,000-100,000 words in any of the following genres: action thriller, cosy mystery, crime, historical adventure, horror, psychological thriller, romance or saga
• Entry fee: £25 per entry, multiple entries permitted. The entry price includes a ticket to a selection of live online masterclasses hosted by Canelo on November 30. A limited number of free entries are available to low-income writers on application. Open internationally

• Flash 500 Novel Opening & Synopsis Competition
• Closing date: October 31
• Prizes: 1st place £500, 2nd place £200
• Judges: judged by Headline Publishing, which publishes Maggie O’Farrell, Neil Gaiman and Martina Cole, among others
• Requirement: first 3,000 words and a synopsis of max 750 word
• Entry fee: £10 for one entry, £18 for two, £26 for three. There is also an option to receive feedback for £35 per entry. Open internationally

• The Virginia Prize for Fiction
• Closing date: October 31
• Prizes: finalists will receive editorial guidance and a conditional publishing deal from Aurora Metro Books with an advance and royalty payable for the publishing rights (I’m not clear how many finalists there will be)
• Judges: doesn’t say
• Requirement: a completed, unpublished novels for adults or YA readers of at least 45,000 words
• Entry fee: £25 per entry, multiple entries permitted. Open internationally to writers who identify as women

• The Caledonia Novel Award 2024
• Closing date: November 1
• Prizes: 1st place £1,500 and a specially designed trophy. Highly Commended £500. There is also a prize for the best novel from the UK and Ireland of a place on a writing course at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre in the Scottish Highlands
• Judge: literary agent with United Agents Ariella Feiner
• Requirement: first 20 pages of a novel and a 200-word synopsis
• Entry fee: £25 per entry. A number of sponsored places are available to low-income writers. Open internationally

• Blue Pencil Agency Pitch Prize 2023
• Closing date: November 5
• Prizes: up to 10 writers will get to pitch their novel to the literary agent judge via zoom, get editorial feedback and recommendations, industry insights and advice on next steps
• Judge: literary agent Millie Hoskins, United Agents
• Requirement: first 500 words of your opening chapter and a 300-word synopsis
• Entry fee: £12 per entry, multiple entries permitted. A number of free places are available to low-income or underrepresented writers. Open internationally

• The Bath Children‘s Novel Award 2023
• Closing date: November 30
• Prizes: 1st place £3,000 and a trophy. Shortlistees will be given the readers’ comments on their full manuscript and all listees will win feedback on their opening pages and synopsis from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy’s Editorial Director and Head of Scouting Monica Chakraverty. One longlistee will also win a place (worth £1,800) on the online course Edit Your Novel the Professional Way from Professional Writing Academy and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy
• Judges: the shortlist will be chosen by Junior Judges aged 7-17 years (I love this!). The winners will be selected by literary agent at The Agency Jessica Hare
• Requirement:  the first 5,000 words plus a one-page synopsis of a children’s novel or chapter book, or up to three entire picture book texts with summaries for age 1-5
• Entry fee:  £29 per entry. A number of free places are available to low-income or underrepresented writers. Open internationally

• Criminal Lines 2023
• Closing date: December 7
• Prizes: 1st place £3,500 and an offer of representation from AM Heath literary agency. The runner-up will receive twelve months of mentoring from Orion Fiction. The winner, runner-up and shortlist will be revealed in the March issue of Crime Monthly magazine
• Judges: the panel of judges includes AM Heath agents Euan Thorneycroft and Oli Munson, Crime Monthly assistant editor Lisa Howells, Orion Fiction editors Leodora Darlington and Sam Eades, and authors Vaseem Khan and Mari Hannah
• Requirement: first 5,000 words of a crime novel and a 1,000-word synopsis
• Entry fee: free to enter. Open to writers born or living in Britain (including the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) and Ireland (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland)

• Cheshire Novel Prize for Kids
• Closing date: December 31
• Prizes: 1st place £1,500. One highly commended writer will win £500. If more than one writer wins or is highly commended, the prize money will be split between the winners. There will be an agent showcase for the shortlisted, longlisted and writers who make the top 100 of entrants. In addition, every single entry gets a page of feedback.
• Judges: agents Chloe Seager from Madeline Milburn Literary Agency and Julia Churchill from AM Heath, senor commissioning editor with Simon & Schuster Amina Youssef, and children’s author Benjamin Dean
• Requirement: up to three picture books of 600-800 words for the age 1-5 category. For older age groups, 5,000 words and a 500-word synopsis
• Entry fee: £29 per entry, multiple entries permitted. A number of sponsored places are available on application by December 1. Open internationally

• The 2023 Exeter Novel Prize
• Closing date: January 1, 2024
• Prizes: 1st place £1,000 plus a trophy. ​Five runners-up will receive £100 and a paperweight
• Judge: literary agent with WME Agency Hellie Ogden
• Requirement: first 10,000 words and a synopsis of max 500 word
• Entry fee: £20 per entry, multiple entries permitted. A number of sponsored places are available to low-income writers. Open internationally

Clockwise from back left: judges Anna Davis, Jess Molloy, Natasha Brown, Kate Mosse, Rowan Hasayo Buchanan

• Women’s Prize Discoveries 2024
• Closing date: January 8, 2024
• Prizes: 1st place £5,000 and representation by the Curtis Brown Literary Agency. One promising writer, named the ‘Discoveries Scholar’, will win a free scholarship to attend a three-month Writing Your Novel course with Curtis Brown Creative (worth £1,800). Six shortlisted authors will be offered a mentoring session with a CB agent, plus a free place on a six-week online writing course with CBC. The shortlisted writers will also take part in a studio session focused on writing and recording for audio with Audible. The 16 longlisted authors will receive a bespoke,two-week online Discoveries Writing Development Course designed by CBC
• Judges: novelists Kate Mosse, Natasha Brown and Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Curtis Brown Creative director Anna Davis and CB agent Jess Molloy
• Requirement: the first 10,000 words of a novel with a synopsis of max 1,000 words
• Entry fee: free to enter, one entry only. Open to unpublished women writers currently residing in the UK or Ireland

• Retreat West First Chapter Competition
• Closing date:  January 28, 2024
• Prizes: 1st place a submission package (cover letter, synopsis and first three chapters) review and written feedback from the literary agent judge and a 30-minute Zoom meeting with him to discuss your work. 2nd place feedback on first three chapters from Amanda Saint, publisher at Retreat West Books. Shortlisted writers will receive short feedback from the agent
• Judge: literary agent with United Agents Eli Keren
• Requirement: first chapter only of max 3,000 words (no minimum word count)
• Entry fee: £10 per entry, multiple entries permitted. Open internationally

• The Plaza Crime: First Chapters Competition
• Closing date: January 31, 2024
• Prizes: 1st place £1,500 and publication in The Plaza Prizes Anthology 2, plus a one-to-one tutorial and detailed feedback from the judge. 2nd place £300, 3rd place £100
• Judge: crime writer David Mark
• Requirement: first 5,000 words of a crime novel plus a 300-word synopsis
• Entry fee: £20 for one entry, £10 for any subsequent entries. There are some free entry bursaries available to low-income writers, on application. Open internationally

• Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize
• Closing date: February 9 (12 midday)
• Prizes: 1st place £1,500. The winner and shortlisted entrants will each receive a one-to-one consultation with the Peters Fraser + Dunlop literary agency
• Judges: panel includes PFD agent Tim Bates, Hodder & Stoughton publisher Phoebe Morgan and Cathy Moore, Artistic Director of the Cambridge Literary Festival
• Requirement: the first 40-50 pages and a synopsis of three-five pages long, anything from middle grade to adult
• Entry fee: £12 per entry, one entry only. Some subsidised places are available for low-income writers, apply by February 7. Open to unpublished women writers who live in the UK or Ireland

PS. If you’re new to writing and/or submitting, you might find a useful tip or two in my post 6 Things I’ve Learned About Entering Competitions

PPS. What’s that, you say? You wish you could buy me a coffee in return for all this invaluable information? Funnily enough, there’s a way to do that now on my brand-new Ko-fi page – link here

Photo: Eli Francis/Pixabay