The Bath Children’s Novel Award 2024 is a £5,000 international writing competition.
Submissions are open until 30 November 2024. Entrants should be unagented and unpublished, self-published or independently published.
Initial submissions are the opening 5,000 words plus one page synopsis of children’s novels, chapter books, and YA novels, or up to three picture book texts with summaries.
The author of 2024’s winning manuscript will receive £5,000. The winner will also receive our beautiful Minerva trophy, based on the world famous sculpture of the goddess in Bath’s Roman Baths.
Recipients include: Struan Murray for the manuscript of Orphans of the Tide (published by Puffin in 2020); Lucy Van Smit for The Hurting (Chickenhouse, 2018) and Matthew Fox for The Sky Over Rebecca (Hachette, 2022).
Shortlisted writers win a compilation of award readers’ comments on their full manuscript. All listees win feedback on their opening pages from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy‘s editorial director Monica Chakraverty.
One longlistee will also win a place worth £1,980 on the virtual course Edit Your Novel the Professional Way sponsored by Cornerstones Literary Consultancy and the Professional Writing Academy.
Entry is £29.99 per submission with sponsored places available for writers on a low income.