In partnership with David Higham Associates (DHA), the WriteMentor 2025 Novel & Picture Book Award is looking for new writing talent in children’s, young adult, and adult fiction.
Now in its seventh year, the Awards invite entries worldwide within three categories: Picture Books, Children’s (Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult), and Adult fiction.
Winners from each category will be selected by three agents from DHA, one of the leading agencies for writers in the world, with some of the most successful literary careers of the twentieth century in its care. Each winner will receive a cash prize, a 45-minute one-to-one virtual consultation with the agent judge for that category, and a one-year free membership to the Hub, WriteMentor’s online membership platform.
Entries for the WriteMentor Novel and Picture Book are open now until 1st April 2025. Enter below.
Judging Panel
Picture Book Category Judge
Deirdre Power started her career at Curtis Brown as an assistant, and since then has worked in the children’s editorial teams at Simon & Schuster and Usborne Publishing. Deirdre joined David Higham Associates in January 2023 to assist Caroline Walsh and Veronique Baxter on the children’s side. She now works with Caroline across her incredible list. Prior to working in publishing, Deirdre attended Trinity College Dublin for my BA in English Studies and MPhil in Children’s Literature, and previously worked as a bookseller on Grafton Street in Dublin.
Children’s Category Judge
Christabel McKinley came into publishing via teaching English in Korea, where she taught literature to children. Christabel loved seeing how her students interacted with stories, and wanted to be a part of finding the perfect books to get into their hands. Christabel believes children’s books should be accessible, inclusive, unpatronising, impactful, and a pleasure to read. Christabel loves all genres – what draws her in is a confident storytelling voice, strong world-building, and an immediate sense of seeing the world from a real child’s perspective.
Adult Category Judge
Maddalena Cavaciuti studied English Literature at the University of Bristol and joined David Higham Associates in 2017 after a spell working in marketing and events. As well as building her own list, Maddalena works with Managing Director Lizzy Kremer and helps to run DHA’s Open Days for Under-Represented Writers.
Maddalena is looking for escapism – she wants to be drawn in by hooky pitches and compelling characters then swept away by page-turning drama, relationships and adventure.
“DHA couldn’t be prouder to support WriteMentor’s wonderful initiative to discover new writing talent and new voices. I can’t wait to get my hands on this year’s adult fiction submissions and am itching to get reading!”
Maddalena Cavaciuti, Adult Category Judge
“We’re always looking for something we can really sink our teeth into, but in more practical terms, this comes down to finding that perfect blend of an exciting and tightly plotted story, with a writing style that is eminently readable. We’re open widely across subject, style and genre – what makes a winning entry for us is something that we find unforgettable and accomplished, that we’re prepared to really fight for and fall in love with as we’re reading. We’re looking for something polished, authentic, with a clear view of what it’s trying to accomplish, and ideally something with a clear and distinct hook.”
Christabel McKinley, Children’s Category Judge
“For me I think a fresh take on a classic theme will always work really well, but more than anything I’m looking at the storytelling potential. I often think of picture books as being performed to children as much as they’re read, so I’m looking for something that fits that bill, with wide appeal in terms of its subject matter. I’m always looking for joy – but really what brings about that magic is very deliberate and precise choices with your language to make it flow like a river.”
Deirdre Power, Picture Book Category Judge
Prizes
FIRST PRIZE
The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of £500, a 45-minute one-to-one virtual consultation with the agent judge for that category, and a one-year free membership to the Hub, WriteMentor’s online membership platform, worth £150. The consultation will consist of a 15-minute discussion of the winning entry and 30 minutes for additional questions including industry insights and career guidance.
SHORTLIST
All shortlisted writers will receive individual feedback on their entries from our readers, a group of experienced and published authors, and one-year free membership to the Hub, WriteMentor’s online membership platform, worth £150.
LONGLIST
All long listed writers will receive one-year free membership to the Hub, WriteMentor’s online membership platform, worth £150.
How to enter
WriteMentor invites all unpublished and unagented authors aged 18 and above to submit their Picture Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult fiction to the 2025 Novel & Picture Book Awards. The awards are open internationally for completed works written in English.
Entrants can submit any genre of Picture Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult, or Adult fiction:
- For Picture Books, please submit a completed manuscript in a single Word document.
- For novels (Chapter Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adult), please submit the first 3,000 words for your novel and a one-page synopsis in a single Word document.
Entry fee is £15 with a limited number of concessions.
Please ensure you read the rules below before entering.
Key dates
Submissions are open now until 11:59pm on Tuesday 1st April 2025.
The longlist and shortlist will be announced in May 2025 and the winners later in the year.
“I’ve entered the WriteMentor Novel Award pretty much every year since it first began and it’s changed a lot in that time – for the better, in my opinion. I have truly appreciated all the thought, care and consideration Stuart has put in to organising it with entrants’ mental health at the forefront.”
Cate Haynes, 2023 Novel Award winner
“The experience was fantastic. The WriteMentor team and Stuart show so much care for everybody in the way they announce results and the advice they offer to help deal with each stage. Also, the WriteMentor community on Twitter is just amazing. Everyone is so welcoming and kind, and they’re always ready to celebrate and support each other. I feel so very lucky to be amongst many brilliant writers. The standard is so high every year and the results are so close.”
Saira Shah, 2023 Picture Book award winner, now represented by Peters Fraser + Dunlop
Rules
Entries for complete manuscripts only – Picture Book, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult and Adult of any genre. You may enter as many novels/texts as you wish.
You cannot be agented or traditionally published. Self-published novels are eligible. Independently published writers, who have not received an advance, may enter, but not with a published novel.
For Picture Book writers, send us the whole manuscript, with a short synopsis at the start (a pitch would suffice). No artwork or illustrations please. Text only. Ideal word count is between 500-1000 words.
For Novel writers, submit a synopsis (single-spaced) and then first 3,000 words (1.5 or double-spaced) in the same word document.
Word limit is not negotiable and if you exceed this, your entry will not be read. We suggest finishing at a suitable point before 3000 rather than mid-sentence. A great 2000-word entry, that finishes on a great cliff-hanger is probably more effective than a 2997 word entry that stops in the middle of a scene.
Use 12? and a plain font like Times New Roman. Put page numbers in the footer.
Name your document in the format of ‘TITLE.docx’ – i.e. ‘THEHOBBIT.docx’ with the title of the manuscript in the header.
Do not put your name anywhere on the document or in the name of the uploaded document, as entries are read anonymously. The ONLY place your name should be is in the name field on the form. If you notice on your confirmation email that the document title includes your name, do not worry. We will manually rename the file before it’s passed onto the readers.
Use the link at the top of the entry form page to pay your entry fee.
All entries will be sent digitally. We are committed to being green and want to keep costs for writers down, so mail entries will not be allowed.
If you are unable to pay the entry fee, simply type CONCESSION in the box on the entry form. You do not need to provide any evidence or explanation for this. However, we are limiting the free entries this year to 30 and one FREE entry per person.
If you are long listed for the novel award, we will contact you after the announcement to ask for your full manuscript. Please send this within 7 days. If you are shortlisted, we will forward your full manuscript onto our judges.
All announcements will happen via the site, so do sign up to our mailing list and follow us on social media.
FAQs
I entered last year – can I enter again?
Absolutely.
Will I get the same readers?
It’s unlikely, as our pool of readers does change a little, and the odds of getting the same readers as last time are very slim.
Can I enter more than one novel/text?
Yes, enter as many as you like, but each one will need its own entry form and fee.
Will I get a confirmation email when I enter?
Yes, it will be emailed to the address that you input on the entry form. Do check junk/spam folders before enquiring.
I don’t have Word – how can I submit a .doc or .docx file?
If you do not have word, then you can paste your entry into Google Docs, then download the file as a .doc or .docx. We have nearly 50 people judging in total, many of which will not be able to access files sent in other formats.
What happens if I sign with an agent during the reading/judging period?
Send us an email, or a message via the contact form, and you will need to withdraw from the day of signing your contract.
Should I include my prologue?
Simple answer. If your prologue is good, include it! Seriously, this is your call, but our experience is that when you only have 3000 words to grab our attention, and if your prologue isn’t in the main storyline, it might be worth considering leaving it out.
Do I HAVE to do a synopsis?
YES! We understand the agony, but don’t fret – simply hit us with a blow-by-blow account of the main things that happen in the story – 1 page, single spaced – and that will work fine. Ultimately you won’t miss out on being listed due a poor synopsis, but you will due to a poor chapter 1, so focus on that.
I’m only a few words over 3000, can I just enter them?
Sorry, but no. Only way to ensure absolutely fairness is to apply this upper limit rigidly. Most writers will spend hours editing and cutting, or choosing to end earlier to make the limit, so you should, too. Worth noting that a 2000-word extract that is great is just as likely to get listed as a 2999 word extract, and it’s unlikely the latter will finish in a place that is perfect for making your reader want more. That is the priority over a few extra words.
Which age category should I put down?
Hard for us to answer, but the general rule is kids tend to read 2 years up. So, if your main character is 12, you’re looking at a 10-year-old reader.
Am I guaranteed to sign with an agent if I’m shortlisted?
No. But a large % of our longlisted and shortlisted authors from previous years are now with agents, and we have a several published authors from that group, too. We offer no guarantees, performing well in a novel award means you have impressed many adult and kid readers and is a good sign that your story has appeal.
You used to give feedback – can I pay extra for this?
Unfortunately, the time demand and the sheer number of entries (more than 1000 last year) meant we had to take away this option for now. However, we will be offering this in our other award, the Novel in Development Award.
I’ve entered. What should I do while I wait?
Take care of yourself. Take a break. Do something else. Write something else. Forget about the competition and set a reminder for the day of the longlist announcement. Casually browse the list when it’s announced, without expectation or hope, and if you’re not there, at least you’ve been working on something new and won’t be too disappointed. If you are on there, then it’s a nice surprise and welcome boost. This year we will email everyone at the same time with the outcome. We will then publicly announce later, to give those receiving the news time to process this before posts are made on social media etc. But the absolute priority is you, and your mental health and wellbeing, so please enter, then forget about it. Writing a long game and is not about 1 individual competition or moment in time – keep up the good habit of submitting and moving on and it will benefit you in the long run.
Award success stories
Sophia Payne won the 2020 WriteMentor Picture Book Award with Faruq and the Wiri Wiri, now published by Templar Books
Sean Dooley won the 2021 WriteMentor Novel Award and is now represented by Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency
Chris Galvin shortlisted for 2021 WriteMentor Novel Award and is represented by David Higham Associates
Louse Finch’s novel The Eternal Return of Clara Hart, runner-up in the 2020 WriteMentor Novel Award, is now published by Little Island
Aoife Doyle won the 2021 WriteMentor Novel Award and is now represented by Peters Fraser + Dunlop
Sue Cunningham won the 2020 WriteMentor Novel Award and is now published by Scholastic
Alexandra Page‘s winning book for the 2019 WriteMentor Novel Award, Wish You Was, is now published with Walker Books
Kathryn Foxfield‘s novel, Good Girls Die First, runner-up in the 2019 WriteMentor Novel Award, is now published by Scholastic
Amy Borg, shortlisted in the 2019 WriteMentor Novel Award, is now represented by Sara O’ Keeffe