There’s just over a week to go until the Book Edit’s Writers’ Prize deadline on October 22!

Launched on September 12, we’re into the second year of the competition and this time we’re delighted that it will be judged by acclaimed author Dr Elizabeth Chakrabarty.

The eight talented winners will again have the chance to read their work at a live zoom showcase event in front of industry guests and Book Edit contacts.

A recording of the 2021 showcase is available here and an anthology of the extracts can be found here.

The prize is open to unpublished British and/or UK-based novelists from backgrounds and communities currently underrepresented in British publishing. Our FAQs page has more on eligibility and what we mean by underrepresented.

Elizabeth Chakrabarty, our judge for this year, published her debut novel, Lessons in Love and Other Crimes in 2021 after leaving academia to concentrate on her writing. She has since been longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize, and for the Dinesh Allirajah Prize 2022 for her short story That Last Summer.

Elizabeth’s novel was inspired by her experience of a hate crime while she was working in higher education, and in a personal essay in Wasafari she writes about some of the things she was told whilst working in academia, such as that she had spelled her own name wrong and being asked if she had an arranged marriage.

In an interview with The Book Edit’s Founder, Emily Pedder, Chakrabarty has commented before that it is not surprising “just how non-diverse the publishing industry is in the UK, although that seems to be changing.”

The Book Edit Writers’ Prize aims to support those talented writers who might not otherwise have access to the industry. For the chance to have your work judged by Charkrabarty, all you need to submit is the first 1,000 words of your novel. For full competition details, dates and submission guidelines follow this link. The competition closes on 22nd October.

This competition is completely free to enter, and all entrants will receive advice on other options including courses, mentoring and editing (so you can’t lose!).

We look forward to receiving your submissions!