The Borough Press Manuscript Prize For BAME Writers—Apply (Awards: £10,000 publishing contract with The Borough Press and More)

Have you been submitting your full-length book to literary agents and publishers without success? If your answer is yes, I have good news for you. The Borough Press is collaborating with The Good Literary Agency to read unsolicited smanuscripts for un-agented BAME writers. One lucky writer will be selected to receive a £10,000 publishing contract with The Borough Press, representation from The Good Literary Agency, and mentoring from Nikesh Shukla.

Amazing, isn’t it?

According to the press release:

The open submission, spearheaded by Assistant Editor Ore Agbaje-Williams, is calling for authors from BAME backgrounds who have written a literary or literary-commercial novel in keeping with the spirit of The Borough Press list – books people want to talk about, either to question or agree; books that span the globe, whether near home or far afield; energetic, modern and eclectic books that inspire passion in readers – to enter the open submission.

How To Apply:

To be considered for this award,

• Writers must submit the first three chapters/50 pages of your novel (up to 10,000 words) .
• Please include a synopsis of the book and author biography.
• Only email submissions will be accepted.
• Email your entries to boroughsubmissions@harpercollins.co.uk
• Entries opened on  1^st  January, 2019.
• All submissions must reach the organizers by 31^st March 2019,

Judges:

Imprint readers and editors from HarperCollins

Readers and editors From The Good Literary Agency

Manuscripts will be judged based on their quality and commercial potential. You might want to read our tips on preparing your manuscript for publishing.

Here’s a quote from Ore Agbaje-Williams:

The different backgrounds and heritages of our society are under-represented in various areas across the media, including publishing, and The Borough Press is hugely committed to enabling more of these voices to be heard. That’s why open submissions periods like these for BAME writers are important. To make clear to agents, writers, future editors, and the industry that there is a place for these writers, there are readers who want them. I’m delighted that we can take steps to bring those writers and their stories to a wider audience with The Good Literary Agency.’

 

Here’s a quote from Julia Kingsford, Co-founder of The Good Literary Agency 

‘We’re very excited to be partnering with Borough Press to support them in looking for a great British BAME novelist. We believe that open submissions and competitions can be fantastic ways of increasing opportunities for writers from under-represented backgrounds, especially when they come with ongoing mentoring and support as well as a publishing deal, and when they operate alongside a sustained commitment to change. We can’t wait to see the work of the amazing writers this process will undoubtedly uncover and to working with the best of them on their novels.’

 

Other Submission Guidelines

• All submissions must be written in English
• Incomplete manuscripts are welcome. However, you must include the complete plot and the story’s end (maximum 500 words); a one paragraph summary of the book; a short list of the main characters; and author’s full biography.
• Entrants must be of black, Asian or minority ethnic background, Entrants might be askedto provide identifying information in their submission.
• Entrants must be aged 18 or over to enter this competition.
• Submissions must be in Word format. All documents must be submitted at the same time, attached to a single email.

(the attachments each to be clearly individually marked as ‘manuscript’, ‘synopsis’, and ‘author biography’); the chapters of the manuscript are to be in one document, NOT sent as separate documents. In addition, each of the three documents should be marked IN THE FILE NAME with the author’s name and the title of the novel and this information should also be marked on every page of each document.
In the ‘Subject’ area at the top of an entrant’s submission email, entrants should put the title and their (pen) name.

Novels submitted must be:
a. within the literary or commercial-literary genre, which is to say that novels in other genres will not be considered, thereby excluding – among other genres – children’s and Young Adult fiction, genre fiction (straight science fiction, fantasy, horror or crime) and romantic fiction. Non-fiction will also not be considered.

• Please read their full terms and conditions on their website.
• Forward all inquiries to boroughsubmissions@harpercollins.co.uk

Good luck.

 

 

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