London Writing Workshops » Orion

£25,000 competition seeks UK’s next big writing talent

Vicky — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:47:26 +0000

The Bookseller reports that Good Housekeeping has launched a £25,000 competition for budding novelists in association with Orion and agent Luigi Bonomi. The competition is announced in the magazine’s January issue, which goes on sale today (1st December).

Good Housekeeping is looking for previously unpublished writers in any genre apart from children’s, with first prize a £25,000 advance, help from the Orion editorial team and Bonomi, and the chance to have the winning book published with coverage in the magazine. Judges will include Kate Mosse, Bonomi, Orion fiction publishing director Kate Mills and Good Housekeeping editorial director Lindsay Nicholson.

A.P. Watt trawls online for crime writing talent

Vicky — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:55:50 +0000

The world’s oldest literary agency, A.P. Watt, has linked up with social networking site Circalit for a competition to find new crime writing talent. Unpublished writers can upload the first 30 pages of their manuscript to the Circalit site, and provided the work attracts enough attention from other Circalit members, it’s eligible to be read by someone from A P Watt. According to today’s press release from the Bookseller (12/1/11), the competition will run for the next 6 weeks.

Circalit is one of a number of websites where aspiring writers can upload their work and receive feedback from peers and industry professionals. Other sites include the Arts Council funded You Write On, which has links with publishers Orion and Random House, and the HarperCollins electronic slushpile Authonomy. Sites are usually free to join but require an investment of time – reading and reviewing other members’ work – if you’re to reap any benefits.

The People’s Book Prize

Vicky — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:25:07 +0000

The People’s Book Prize looks like a worthwhile project. It aims to cut out the middlemen (and women) by offering readers a chance to promote the books they love. Each month there’s a vote, and the overall winning book will be declared in July 2010. Beryl Bainbridge is a patron.

Interesting to see their list of participating publishers – small independent presses like Tindal Street and Legend rubbing shoulders with the likes of HarperCollins and Orion:

http://www.peoplesbookprize.com/publisher.php