A raft of supporters have lined up behind publisher Scholastic and Italian pen manufacturer Montegrappa to launch the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children’s Writing announced at the show. The LBF, literary agents LBA Books and The Independent have joined the two main sponsors.
The organisers are looking for new talent for writing fiction for 7-12 years age group – open to unpublished authors aged over 18 from the UK and Ireland. The winner gets a publishing deal with Scholastic, plus a weekend for two in Venice to visit the home of Montegrappa and receive a handmade pen worth over £1000. Judges include: children’s author, Cbeebies presenter and Booktrust patron Cerrie Burnell; Samantha Smith, Fiction Publisher at Scholastic, Louise Lamont, children’s agent at LBA; Arifa Akbar, Books Editor of the Independent.
Time is tight for this competition with the first 5,000 words required by 2 June 2014. If you’re shortlisted then they need the rest of the story by August as the shortlist will be announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The winning novel will be revealed at next year’s LBF.
Is this you? Visit Scholastic for entry details.
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