Can I enter 1,250 words from later in my book?
It should be the first pages of your entire manuscript as we want to see great openings to stories. So, the first pages from a later chapter don't show us that crucial opening to your story.
If I’m in email contact with an agent and sort of working with them on my manuscript, does that mean I’m ineligible?
Until you have signed a contract of representation with an agent, you are still un-agented and thus eligible in that regard, to enter.
Do you accept entries of poetry?
We are currently not accepting poetry for First Pages Prize but are looking into how we could include poetry in the future.
Can I enter an essay or short story?
One of the three judging criteria is “a sense of a bigger story emerging” so a single essay or short story is unlikely to be able to show that sense of a bigger story. If you have a collection of short stories or essays then they would be eligible as a “longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction”, but it would be important to give a sense that there is a coherent, linked, book-length longer work behind the opening pages.
When does the full manuscript have to be completed?
We don’t request a full manuscript - the contest is judged on the first pages of a "longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction" that you are working on because a) we want to support emerging writers to complete or polish their manuscript with the support of the prize package, and b) one of the judging criteria is a "sense of a bigger story emerging" so we read to see a sense of some foreshadowing or development of a bigger story glimpsed in the first pages.
Do you accept Young Adult pages rather than adult novel?
We are open to all genres of fiction (and creative non-fiction) so YA is most welcome. In our inaugural year, the writer who came 2nd entered Middle-Grade Fiction.
My first FIVE pages amount to more than 1,250 words. Should I follow the word count or the page count?
We’ve now de-emphasized the “five pages” guideline and just say the word count maximum of 1,250 words. Page margins, header/footer, page size (US or A4) all create variables!
It’s best to stop at the end of a sentence rather than mid-sentence to hit exactly 1,250 words. We don’t mind 1,254 or 1,239 or 1,256…. but entries that obviously exceed 1,250 will be disqualified. In publishing terms, book manuscripts that are double-spaced, 12-point font generally result in 250 words per page, which is how we calculated “5 pages” to be 1,250 words. Send us your opening pages up to the word count maximum and you’ll be following the rules perfectly.
The contest is labeled for 'emerging' authors. I have six books published and in print. Would my literary status be disqualifying?
As long as you are currently not represented by a literary agent, and your entry is unpublished, you are able to enter. Even if you used to have an agent and no longer do. And even if you have earlier works published.
Oops! I made a typo on my submission, can I edit it?
Sorry, but no entry may be altered after submission. Please check your entry (and double check your name does not appear on the manuscript, including the header or footer). It’s also a good idea to check your entry doesn’t have any Tracked Changes or Comments on it.
Parts of my opening five pages have been published, can I still enter my five pages?
Your entry must NOT be previously published, even on a blog, Wattpad, offline, or as a Facebook post. So the published extracts of your pages should be removed and we hope you can revise to make up the word count with some of your subsequent pages…just not those published paragraphs or pages.
Can i enter the first pages of a book i self-published?
If it is your original work, sold less than one hundred copies, and is not published on any websites (excerpts included), you may submit your work for consideration.
When will finalists be announced?
The top 3 finalists in each category, as well as our Longlist & Shortlist, will be announced Summer of 2024. Timing is dependent on the review process.