• The Bath Novel Award 2024 is a prize for emerging authors of any nationality or residency
• 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 (for any age of readers including novels for children), chapter book or picture book which includes an advance / pre-publication payment from the publisher
• Entries may be submitted from December 1st 2023 until 23:59 (BST) on May 31st 2024
• Novels should be for adult or young adult readers and may be in any genre
• Novels must be your original work and submitted in English
• Novels can be unpublished, self-published or independently published
• Submissions should be a single document which includes (up to) the first 5,000 words of a novel of at least 50,000 words followed by a one page synopsis. Extracts should be 1.5 or double-spaced in a 12pt font with your synopsis single spaced in a 12pt font
• Entries should be your text only without any photographs, maps or artwork
• As entries are read blind, your name should not appear anywhere in your extract/synopsis document
• Manuscripts must be entered online and we accept Word docs, docx and pdf files
• The entrance fee is £29.99 per novel and you may enter as many novels as you wish
• Sponsored places are available for writers on low incomes, more details here 
• The winner of The Bath Novel Award 2024 will be announced in September 2024 and awarded £5,000 GBP. In the event of a joint win, the prize money will be shared equally between winners.
• The longlist will be announced at www.bathnovelaward.co.uk in June 2024 with longlisted writers invited to submit their full manuscript for the final judging stages
• The writer of the most promising longlisted novel, as judged by Cornerstones Literary Consultancy  in September 2024 will receive a free place on the 18 week online course Edit Your Novel the Professional Way.  The value of this prize is £1,800. The course is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative to this prize.
• Shortlisted novels will be announced in July 2024
• Shortlistees will win a compilation of award readers’ feedback on their full manuscript
• All listees will win a paragraph of feedback from an editorial director at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy on their initial opening pages. This feedback will be provided after the winning novel has been announced.
• Entries which do not comply with the competition rules may be disqualified
• Submissions may not be altered after entry
• Entrants retain full copyright, however by entering, all shortlisted entrants give permission for us to post an extract of up to 5,000 words on our site
• By entering the winner agrees to an interview which may be published on our site and in any media for publicity purposes
• Employees of the Bath Novel Award, Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, Professional Writing Academy and the judge’s literary agency are not eligible
• The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into concerning this decision