Got a question? Get the answer in our eligibility and entry FAQ.
Eligibility FAQ
What is an emerging author?
For the purposes of the competition, we define emerging authors as: ‘unagented writers who are yet to accept an offer of publication, for a novel or children’s fiction book, which includes an advance / pre-publication payment from the publisher.’
An advance is a signing bonus that is negotiated and paid by the publisher to the author before publication.
So if you have had a book deal for a novel or children’s fiction book but your deal did not include an advance this would not affect your eligibility to win.
Do you need a finished book?
Authors of longlisted extracts will need to promptly submit a full manuscript for the shortlist judging stages. It doesn’t need to be your final draft but it does need to be a complete draft.
Full manuscripts are requested when we announce our longlists: late June for the Bath Novel Award; mid-December for the Bath Children’s Novel Award.
Is there a minimum word count for fulls?
For the Bath Novel Award, full manuscripts should be at least 50,000 words long or 25,000 words for novels-in-verse. For the Bath Children’s Novel Award, there is no minimum or maximum word count.
Can I enter a later draft of a manuscript I’ve entered before?
Yes, resubmissions are always welcome. Several of our winning manuscripts have been later drafts of books we’ve seen before.
Are the awards international?
Yes. Our awards are fully international, open to writers of any nationality and place of residence.
Our reading team is international too, and past winners and shortlistees have come from countries including Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, England, Germany, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the USA, and Wales.
Can entrants be any age?
Yes.
Are books in a series eligible to win?
Yes, books which are part of a series are eligible to win. If your book is the first in a duology / trilogy / series we would recommend mentioning this at the end of your synopsis.
You do not need to enter other books in the series, however if a book requires an understanding of an earlier book, we would recommend entering both, stating in brackets after the title on the entry form for the later book “Read after TITLE OF OTHER BOOK”.
Are self-published books eligible to win?
Yes, self-published books are eligible to win and they can have been published in any year.
I’ve accepted a publishing deal (with advance) since entering, can I still win?
Writers who accept a publishing deal with advance prior to the winner’s announcement are no longer eligible to win. In this instance entrants should retire their entry by emailing entries@bathnovelaward.co.uk. If you received your book deal after being listed we will honour that listing.
I’ve accepted representation with a literary agent since entering, can I still win?
Writers who accept an offer of representation prior to the winner’s announcement are no longer eligible to win. In this instance entrants should retire their entry by emailing entries@bathnovelaward.co.uk. If you accept representation after being listed we will honour that listing.
Can I be in another competition concurrently?
Yes. We recognise that exclusivity is not in writers’ best interests so will never ask you for this. Similarly, if you’ve been recognised in another competition this won’t affect your eligibility to win with us.
Are memoirs eligible to win?
Autobiographical novels are eligible to win however we are not the right prize for memoirs aimed at the non-fiction reader.
Are graphic novels eligible to win?
We accept the texts of illustrated chapter and picture books, but we are not the right prize for graphic novels and books where the illustrations are the story, as opposed to an extension of the text.
Am I eligible if I’ve had a book deal for poetry/non-fiction/short form fiction?
Yes. A book deal with advance for poetry, non-fiction, short fiction or short form fiction does not affect your eligibility to win.
Are novels-in-verse eligible to win?
Yes. We accept all forms of novels and novels-in-verse have shortlisted for both our adult and children’s awards.
Are novels-in-stories eligible to win?
Yes. We accept all forms of novels including those where the overarching narrative is told through a series of connected stories.
Are co-authored books eligible to win?
Yes. All authors should be named on the entry form and separate email addresses given. If longlisted, we will ask for a formal confirmation of how any prizes would be allocated in the event of the book winning.
To enter two author names, please type the first author’s full name in the first box and the second author’s full name in the second box on the entry form. If you have more than one co-author please drop us an email with the additional author names to entries@bathnovelaward.co.uk
Are posthumous books eligible to win?
Yes. In the event of the novel listing, we would seek reasonable confirmation that you own the deceased author’s work.
Are novels written by AI eligible to win?
No. Submissions must be the author’s original work, so should not have been written or rewritten by Chat GPT or any other AI creation tool.
Entry FAQ
Can I enter more than one book?
Yes, you may enter as many books as you wish.
Can I enter different versions of my book?
Yes. Please state “alternative version” in brackets after the title on your entry form and we’ll match each version with different readers.
Can I change my entry after submitting?
Please email any contact details or eligibility change to entries@bathnovelaward.co.uk.
If you have edited your book since submitting and wish to enter the revised draft, please note that we are unable to replace entry documents once reading work has begun. Reading work typically begins on the following working day.
Should you wish, you can submit a later draft as a fresh entry. If doing so, please state “alternative version” in brackets after the title on your entry form. We will then commission different readers for the revised entry.
Additionally, if your extract is longlisted we can accept the latest version of your opening 5,000 words as part of your full manuscript submission for the final competition rounds.
Do you offer sponsored entry places?
Yes we do. We have sponsored entry schemes for writers on a low income for both awards at:
The Bath Novel Award sponsored entries
The Bath Children’s Novel Award sponsored entries
If you would like to sponsor a writer on a low income, our donations page can be found here.
In the first round, can I send more than 5,000 words?
Our longlists are selected for opening extracts of up to 5,000 words followed by a one page synopsis. For fairness, any material over this word count is not considered.
When considering each entry for the longlist, readers vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question: did this extract and synopsis make you want to read the full? We therefore recommend ending your extract at a point which leaves readers eager to read more.
Do you have a preferred format for manuscripts?
We strongly recommend submitting your manuscript in industry-standard format.
This ensures your work is easy and distraction-free to read. Industry-standard formatting is so familiar to manuscript readers that it is invisible on the page—allowing your storytelling to take centre stage and draw the reader in.
If you’re not sure what industry standard format looks like, we set this out here for novels and here for picture book texts.
Does the 5,000 word limit include titles?
The 5,000 words should include everything except your novel title and one-page synopsis.
How many picture book texts can I submit per entry?
You may submit up to three complete picture book text submissions per entry.
Can I include artwork/photos/graphics?
No. Submissions should not contain artwork, photos or graphics of any kind.
My book has illustrations which are integral to readers’ understanding of the story. Can I include them?
As we can only consider text, we recommend inserting an illustration note or alt text in place of any images which are integral readers’ understanding of the book.
My novel has a prologue. Should I include it or start at chapter one?
If your novel has a prologue, you can either include it in your opening extract or start at your first chapter. Broadly speaking, our advice would be to start with your prologue if it is short and establishes character stakes. If your prologue is on the longer side and does not introduce your main protagonist we would recommend starting with your first chapter. If you choose to omit your prologue and are longlisted, we can accept your prologue as part of your full manuscript submission.
Which prize is best for YA–adult or children’s?
Young adult novels can be entered for either The Bath Novel Award or The Bath Children’s Novel Award, or both. The main differences between the prizes are:
-Our adult prize is shortlisted by adult readers and older teens, and judged by a literary agent who primarily represents adult fiction authors. Our children’s shortlist is chosen by children and teens, and judged by a literary agent who primarily represents children’s authors.
-Our adult prize receives more entries than the children’s prize so is the more competitive of the two.
-Full manuscripts of novels entered for The Bath Novel Award must be at least 50,000 words. There is no minimum word count for the full manuscripts of books entered for the Bath Children’s Novel Award.
-The closing date for our adult prize is May 31st, while our children’s prize is open until 30th November.
What do you look for in a synopsis and should I reveal how my book ends?
Our How to Write a Strong One-Page Synopsis page walks you through the key elements we hope to find. We are looking for a complete summary of your main plot so you should reveal your ending and any plots twists.
What are your feedback prizes?
All listed writers win feedback on their opening 5,000 words and synopsis.
Shortlisted authors win feedback on their full book manuscript. For the Bath Children’s Novel Award, this includes book reports from Junior Judges aged 7-17 years.
Due to the volume of entries we receive, and the time and care that thoughtful feedback requires, we are unable to provide comments to all entrants.
Should you be interested in obtaining professional feedback on your extract or full manuscript, we can recommend:
Cornerstones Literary Consultancy
Do I need to add a copyright notice?
No. The prize is judged blind and by entering you are confirming that the copyright is yours.
Do you send an auto-confirmation email?
Yes. If our auto-confirmation email has not reached your inbox, drop us an email us at info (at) bathnovelaward.co.uk and we’ll resend.
I’d like to sponsor a writer on a low income, how do I do that?
Thank you, our donations page can be found here.
I have a different question, how do I get in touch?
Drop us an email at info@bathnovelaward.co.uk
