Just a few days left to submit to the Writers' Prize!

With just a few days left to submit to the Book Edit Writers’ Prize, we wanted to highlight one of last year’s winners, British-Lebanese writer Emily Abdeni-Holman, to encourage you to submit your work.

Emily’s poetry collection, Body Tectonic, was published by Broken Sleep Books this summer. She has also contributed her poem, Where We Find Ourselves, to the Arachne Press’ Global Majority anthology. 

Emily said, ‘Winning the Book Edit Writers’ Prize was a real affirmation that Tapha (now At the Pine House) was interesting to others and might be able to make it as a book and not just my own project. It was wonderful to meet other writers: we’re still in touch and sharing updates. I feel invested in my cohort as well as trying to take my own work forward, and that was definitely also down to Rebekah and Emily’s encouragement of all of us and enthusiasm about our writing. I think the prize opens something that continues; it isn’t just a one-off event. It’s easy with writing (for me at least) to sit on a project for years on end and not propel it out into the world, and the Book Edit Writers’ Prize has been important in invigorating me to believe in the possible wider resonance of my work. So, I’m very thankful and will definitely be following this year’s Prize.’

We’re super proud of all our longlisted, shortlisted and winning writers and we hope this has inspired you to submit to 2024’s competition to see where it might take you and your writing.

Spotlight on Kezia Yadhav part of this year's Writers' Prize Team

This week we wanted to give space to one of our Writers’ Prize team members, Kezia Yadhav. Kezia has been helping to write the blogs promoting the prize. Read on for her unique perspective:

Blog creator Kezia Yadhav

‘Originally from India, I moved to Ireland two years ago to pursue a master's degree in English. I found that there is a lack of knowledge among people about the publishing industry in general and have always wished to pursue a career within that space to be able to read, work and create books that can be enjoyed by all. I became a freelance editor for JM Agency after completing my classes, where I proofread, copyedit, and work with authors on manuscripts. It was still very early in my career, and I had much to learn.

To reach my goal of achieving a career in the publishing industry, I applied for jobs via LinkedIn, Indeed, and other job boards, but I had no luck. After assembling my written work and creating a portfolio that includes a bit about myself and my journey, I posted it on LinkedIn, hoping to attract a larger audience. Posting on the platform, marketing and advertising what I have to offer proved to be valuable lessons that helped me establish contacts.

A LinkedIn posting of my writing portfolio began my journey with the Book Edit. Through Emily, I was able to establish a contact that resulted in the opportunity to contribute to the Writers' Prize.

Creating this connection opened up a whole new area of making publishing accessible to people who may not readily have those resources and opportunities. I was not completely aware of the different organizations that worked towards this goal specifically. Thus, finding the Book Edit, the Writers’ Prize competition and the success stories of past winners and their work was very encouraging to be a part of. 

Among the most important attributes the Book Edit has brought to the publishing space is inclusiveness. My experience working with Emily to create blog posts about the current Writers' Prize competition has been extremely valuable. This experience allowed me to gain a greater understanding of what it takes to make your written piece concise, convincing, and aligned with the overall theme. In addition, I was able to look into the experiences of other aspiring authors and learn about their journeys with the Book Edit, the competition and the success they have acquired.

A competition such as this has opened up a new arena for writers who may lack opportunities, which is encouraging for someone like me who is just beginning a publishing career. While my contribution to the competition was only small, I felt urged to enhance both my professional and personal skills and am grateful for the opportunity Emily gave me.’

Thanks so much, Kezia!