Searchlight Awards − Best Novel Opening for Children or Young Adults 2024

• Deadline: 23.59 (UK time) 1 September 2024
• Entry Fee: £16 per entry
• Prizes: 1st prize: £1,000 plus a one-to-one call with the agent judge; 2nd prize: editorial review of 5000 words of your manuscript and a one-hour on-line meeting with celebrated author and creative writing tutor Steve Voake; The top 10 entries will feature in Searchlight’s Agent/Publisher Pitch Book of winning stories
• Word Limit: 1,200 words, not including the title. Pitch: maximum 175 words
• Judge: Rachel Petty of The Blair Partnership
• Category: Novel Competitions
• Competition Website:  searchlightawards.co.uk

Authors writing for children and young adults have a great opportunity with this Searchlight Awards competition. As well as the top prize of £1,000, the top 10 entries are included in a Publisher Pitch Book which is sent to a selection of literary agents.

Authors should submit the first 1,200 words of a longer novel for middle-grade or young adult readers and a short pitch that tells the judges what the book is about. You don’t need to have finished writing your manuscript to enter. Note that this year the competition is for unagented and unpublished writers only.