The Book Edit Writers’ Prize 2023 opens for applications on September 11 and this year we are delighted to announce that the prize will be judged by the writer Deepa Anappara.

Deepa was born in Kerala, southern India, and worked as a journalist in India for eleven years. Her reports on the impact of poverty and religious violence on the education of children won the Developing Asia Journalism Awards, the Every Human has Rights Media Awards, and the Sanskriti-Prabha Dutt Fellowship in Journalism. 

Her debut novel Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line was named as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time and NPR. It won the Edgar Award for Best Novel, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020, and shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Indian Literature. It is being translated into 23 languages.

Deepa is also the co-editor of Letters to a Writer of Colour, a collection of personal essays on fiction, race, and culture, published by Random House (US) and Vintage (UK) in March 2023.

Aiming to support talented writers who might not otherwise have access to the industry, The Book Edit’s Writers’ Prize is a writing competition for unpublished British and/or UK-based novelists from backgrounds and communities currently under-represented in UK publishing.

Eight lucky winners will have the chance to read their work at a live Zoom showcase event in front of industry guests and The Book Edit contacts. After the event, an anthology of the readings will be published online. 

Winners will have the opportunity to rehearse and train for the showcase event with writer, editor and Novel Studio tutor, Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone.

As if all that wasn’t enough, this year we have partnered with the brilliant Legend Press who will be offering a unique opportunity for each of our winners to submit their first chapters to Legend’s Commissioning Editor, Lauren Wolff-Jones, followed by an hour’s Zoom mentoring session, during which Lauren will provide expert feedback and guidance.

And even if you aren’t one of the lucky winners, it’s a competition you can’t lose: completely free to enter, all entrants will receive advice on other options including courses, mentoring and editing.

All you need to submit is the first 1,000 words of your novel. For full competition details, judges, dates and submission guidelines follow this link.

The competition opens on Monday 11th September 2023, with a deadline of midnight on the 23rd October 2023. The Book Edit can’t wait to read your submissions and share your talent!