Online writing school The Novelry launches Next Big Story Writing Competition with £75,000 prize

The Novelry, the online fiction writing school, is thrilled to announce the launch of a groundbreaking new writing contest, ‘The Next Big Story.’ Designed to discover fresh literary talent, the competition will award one winner £75,000 along with a year of support from The Novelry team to develop their idea for a novel into a fully realised fiction book.

The Next Big Story is open to all aspiring writers, including occasional readers who need encouragement to begin, individuals with limited time or financial means, and those who have been historically overlooked by the publishing industry. Entry to the competition opens today, Thursday 1 May, and the submission process is simple: the first three pages of a novel. The pages will be reviewed by a high-profile judging panel, including Emma Roberts, American actress and BELLETRIST book club cofounder; Tayari Jones, Women’s Prize for Fiction-winning author; Yann Martel, Booker Prize-winning author of Life of Pi; Julia Quinn, author of the much-loved Bridgerton series; Zosia Mamet, American actress and author of My First Popsicle: An Anthology of Food and Feelings; Zibby Owens, Podcast host of Totally Booked with Zibby, author, publisher, bookstore owner; Carley Fortune, New York Times bestselling author of This Summer Will Be Different, Meet Me at the Lake, and Every Summer After; Jackie Oshry, co-host of The Toast and author of The Camper and the Counselor; Brady Lockerby, social media influencer and BookToker; Kimmy Nwokorie, social media influencer and BookToker.

Louise Dean, Founder of The Novelry and Booker Prize-listed author says: ‘When it comes to writing fiction, the barriers to engagement seem so high. So many self-exclude and find it hard to get the nerve to even try their hand. We want to change that with an extraordinary prize that rewards the mischief of that moment and the impulse of creativity, when a first sentence goes down on a page and anything can happen next! With The Next Big Story prize, we’re hoping to bring the energy of the music industry to the halls of publishing. Everyone’s invited. Let’s find some new voices.’

The Novelry is known for its innovative, one-on-one approach to creative writing courses, providing writers with advice from global bestselling authors and editors. The Novelry is the creative writing school with an in-house editorial team of former Big Five publishing editors linked to literary agencies. 75% of graduates introduced to literary agents have secured contracts with Big Five publishers, and film rights for alumni books have been acquired by major studios, including Sony and See-Saw Films. Published authors that have completed a course from The Novelry include Clare Leslie Hall, Broken Country (Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club Pick); Becky Hunter, One Moment, Kelly Mullen, This Is Not a Game; Cathryn Kemp, A Poisoner’s Tale; and Nikki Allen, The Hideaway, among others.

With The Next Big Story, The Novelry is uniquely positioned to help the next generation of bestselling authors by providing the resources and platform to launch them into a life-changing career. Aspiring authors can submit the first three pages of their potential novel online at thenovelry.com from Thursday 1 May until Thursday 31 July. The shortlist will be announced on Sunday 28 September, from which the general public can vote for their favourite. Guided by the results of the public vote, the judges will pick a winner to be announced on Sunday 12 October. Full competition details and guidelines are available at thenovelry.com/prize.