FIRST DRAFTS WRITING COMPETITION for unpublished novelists and short story writers
One of the best ways for new writers to get their work noticed is through entering competitions.
Now in its eighth year, First Drafts is an annual event organised by Myriad to uncover exceptional new voices. It has a track record of launching writers who have gone on to enjoy creative and commercial success.
Myriad has published several writers brought to its attention through the competition, including Lisa Cutts, whose crime debut NEVER FORGET was been optioned by a major TV company; Nina de la Mer, author of the acclaimed novels 4 A.M. and LAYLA; Hannah Vincent, whose debut, ALARM GIRL, came out in 2014; S.E. Craythorne, author of HOW YOU SEE ME, and Sara Marshall-Ball, author of HUSH, both published in 2015.
Other past successes include 2010 winner Kirsty Logan, who used her retreat to write a short story that she later expanded to become her novel, THE GRACEKEEPERS (Harvill Secker); 2013 winner THE GIFT OF LOOKING CLOSELY by Al Brookes was Guardian Self-Published Book of the Month; a sample of Juliet West’s novel BEFORE THE FALL (Pan) was shortlisted in 2013.
American short story writer Owen D. Cluer (winner, 2014) was signed by literary agent Becky Thomas (Johnson & Alcock); and Paul McVeigh’s novel THE GOOD SON, shortlisted in 2013, was published by Salt and won the Guardian Not-the-Booker Prize. SWAN SONG, by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott, was shortlisted in 2015. It went on to win The Bridport Prize Peggy Chapman Andrews Award for a First Novel and will be published by Hutchinson in 2018.
For this year’s First Drafts, Myriad and West Dean College invite previously unpublished writers to submit entries of up to 5,000 words from a novel or short story collection in progress.
First Prize: a week-long writing retreat in the luxurious surroundings of West Dean College near Chichester, detailed editorial feedback from the judges, and six months’ mentoring from a Myriad author.
Entry Fee: £10
Closing date: 12 noon on Friday 30th June 2017 and the winner will be announced in November 2017.
You will find all the information about how to enter HERE
Good luck! (I’ve stayed at West Dean and it was bliss – wonderful food and truly amazing surroundings. It’s worth entering for the chance of a week there, but the other part of the prize is the stuff money can’t buy.)
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