Prize Terms

• The Bath Novel Award 2026 is a writing competition for emerging authors.
• The closing date for entries is 31 May 2026 at 23:59 BST.
• .The winning writer will be awarded £5,000 GBP.
• In the event of a joint win, the prize money will be shared equally between winners.
• The winning writer will be announced at www.bathnovelaward.co.uk in September 2026 along with the names of all listees.
• Longlisted entrants will be notified by email in late June 2026 and invited to submit their full manuscripts for the shortlist judging stages.
• Longlistees win feedback on their 5,000 word extract and synopsis.
• Shortlisted entrants will be notified by email in late July 2026.
• Shortlistees win feedback on their full manuscripts.
• The writer of the most promising longlisted novel, as judged by Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, will win a place on the 18 week online course Edit Your Novel the Professional Way. The prize will be announced in September 2026. The prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative.
• By entering, the winner agrees to an interview which may be published on our site and in any media for publicity purposes.
• Entrants retain full copyright of their work. By entering all entrants who are shortlisted give us permission to post their opening pages on our site.
• The Bath Novel Awards reserve the right to change the judge and non-cash prize without notice.
• The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into concerning this decision.

Submission Guidelines

• Initial submissions should be a single Word document or PDF containing the opening of your novel, up to a maximum of 5,000 words and double-spaced in a size 12 font, followed by a one-page synopsis in a single-spaced size 12 font. 
• As our prizes are judged blind, your name and contact details should not appear in your extract/synopsis document.
• We recommend presenting your novel in industry standard format. If you are unsure what this is, please see our guidance page: industry standard format for novel manuscripts
• Entries should not include any photographs, graphics, maps, artwork or cover images.
• Novels should be submitted in English.
• The entrance fee for each novel is £33 inclusive of standard rate VAT and you may enter as many times as you wish.
• Entries should be submitted using our online entry form
• Sponsored places are available for writers on a low income via our sponsored places application form.
• Submissions may not be altered after entry. Entrants who do not comply with the competition terms may be disqualified.

Eligibility

• For the purposes of the competition, ’emerging authors’ are defined 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 their publisher.
• Entrants may be of any age, nationality or residency.
• Novels should be for adult or young adult readers and complete at 50,000 words or more. For novels-in-verse, manuscripts should be complete at 25,000 words or more.
• Submitted novels may be unpublished, self-published or published without an advance (pre-publication) book deal.
• Submissions must be the author’s original work.
• Submissions should not be written or rewritten by Chat GPT or any other AI creation tool.
• Employees of the Bath Novel Awards, Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, the Professional Writing Academy and the judge’s literary agency are not eligible to win.