FIRST CHAPTER COMPETITION

Send the opening chapter of your novel to win feedback from top publishing industry professionals. Extra benefit added to the prize this year: a 30-minute Zoom meeting with our literary agent judge!

2024 Judge - Eli Keren

Eli Keren is a literary agent at United Agents in London. See his full profile on the agency website here.

Eli Keren started his publishing career at Curtis Brown before joining United Agents as an assistant in 2016. In 2021 he became an associate literary agent, representing a growing list of clients across fiction and non-fiction, actively seeking books that are going to make a positive impact in the world in some way, big or small. Before working in books, Eli was a research scientist designing and synthesising novel drugs (white coat and everything), and science books remain a particular passion of his. He is also very interested in LGBT-themed books in both fiction and non-fiction. In 2023 he was elected treasurer of the Association of Authors’ Agents.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CONTEST IS FOR YA AND ADULT FICTION NOVELS ONLY. WE DO NOT ACCEPT SUBMISSIONS OF CHILDREN’S NOVELS.


FIRST PRIZE
Submission package (cover letter, synopsis and first three chapters) review and written feedback from Eli Keren and a 30-minute Zoom meeting to discuss your work.

SECOND PRIZE

Feedback on first three chapters from Amanda Saint, author, creative writing tutor and publisher at Retreat West Books (winner Most Innovative Publisher 2020 Saboteur Awards).

SHORTLISTED
Short feedback from Eli Karen on the first chapter he reads during the judging process. This is provided in the blog announcing the results.

Deadline: 28th January 2024

Entry fee: £10 or £50 with detailed feedback on the first chapter you submit

See full contest T&Cs here: https://www.retreatwest.co.uk/competitions/first-chapter/

SHORT STORY PRIZE

Deadline: 30th November 2024

Max word count: 2500

Entry fee: £12 submission only / £40 with feedback 

PRIZES:

• 1st: £250
• 2nd: £150
• 3rd: £75
• Shortlisted: £20

Theme: Light

Judge: Nod Ghosh

Nod Ghosh is the author of The Two-Tailed Snake, which publishing with Fairlight Books in September 2023. Nod was born in Birmingham, UK, and currently lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she works as a medical laboratory scientist specialising in the diagnosis of cancers. Her short stories and flash fiction have been widely published in journals and anthologies, and her work has been listed for awards including the Bath Novella-in-Flash Award and the New Zealand National Flash Fiction Day competition. She has had four previous novellas published: The Crazed Wind (2018), Filthy Sucre (2020), Toy Train (2021) and Throw a Seven (2023).

Anthology publication: February 2025

See more info on our website: https://westword.uk/westword-prize

FLASH FICTION PRIZE

Deadline: 31st July 2024

Max word count: 1000

Entry fee: £9 submission only / £30 with feedback 

PRIZES:

• 1st: £200
• 2nd: £100
• 3rd: £50
• Shortlisted: £15

Theme: Dream

Judge: Amy Barnes

Amy is the Co-Editor at Gone Lawn, an Associate Editor at Fractured Lit and was a reader at Retreat West for several years. She is also the author of three collections:  Mother Figures (ELJ Editions, 2021), Ambrotypes (Word West LLC, 2022), and Child Craft, (Belle Point Press, 2023). Her writing has been nominated for Best of the Net, the Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction, longlisted for the Wigleaf Top 50 in 2021 and 2022, and included in The Best Small Fictions 2022. Read our interview with Amy here.

Anthology publication: September 2024

More info and other categories here: https://westword.uk/westword-prize

Micro Fiction Prize

Deadline: 31st March 2024

Max word count: 200

Entry fee: £6 submission only / £20 with feedback 

PRIZES:

• 1st: £100
• 2nd: £50
• 3rd: £25
• Shortlisted: £10

Theme: Rain

Judge: Tania Hershman

Tania is a queer poet, prose writer, teacher and editor based in Manchester, UK. The author of nine books: her second poetry collection, Still Life With Octopus, was published by Nine Arches Press in July 2022, and her debut novel, Go On – a fictional memoir-in-collage partly inspired by being writer-in-residence in Manchester’s Southern Cemetery –  by Broken Sleep Books in November 2022. Find out more about Tania here. And you can read our interview with her here.

Anthology publication: June 2024

More info and other categories here: https://westword.uk/westword-prize

WestWord 1000 Word Picture Competition

A picture paints a thousand words and this annual competition in WestWord is for stories of 1000 words exactly inspired by the image prompt. 

Deadline: 31st December 2024

Word count: 1000 words exactly (excluding title)

Entry fee: £6 submission only / £23 with feedback 

PRIZES:

The winning and shortlisted stories will share 61% of the submission fees (after Submittable fees are deducted) .

1st: 35%

2nd: £30%

3rd: £25%

7 shortlisted stories: 3% each

All winning and shortlisted stories will be published in WestWord in February 2025.

See the picture prompt here: https://westword.substack.com/p/1000-word-photo

WestWord Past Times Prize

This annual competition is for historical fiction stories. Each year we will reveal which time the stories should be set in.

Deadline: 31st August 2024

Words: Up to 500 (excluding the title)

Entry fee: £6 submission only / £21 with feedback

PRIZES:

The winning and shortlisted stories will share 61% of the entry fees (after Submittable fees are deducted) .

• 1st: 35%
• 2nd: £30%
• 3rd: £25%
• 7 shortlisted stories: 3% each

All winning and shortlisted stories will be published in WestWord in November 2024.

Get more info here: https://westword.substack.com/p/past-times-prize

One of the best things about flash fiction, is the innovation inherent in these tiny stories. The advent of the hermit crab story has been a wonderful thing to behold. So we want to celebrate this innovative approach to storytelling with a new prize.

Deadline: 29th February 2024

Words: Up to 650 (excluding the title)

Entry fee: £6 submission only / £23 with feedback

PRIZES:

The winning and shortlisted stories will share 61% of the entry fees (after Submittable fees are deducted) .

• 1st: 35%
• 2nd: £30%
• 3rd: £25%
• 7 shortlisted stories: 3% each

All winning and shortlisted stories will be published in WestWord in May 2024.

ENTRY RULES

• Submit stories written in English through Submittable using the button above by 23.59 GMT on the deadline date (sorry late entries will not be included). Please use a clear font of at least size 12 so that we can read it easily!
• Please use the name of your story as your Submission title and the document you upload.
• Do not include your name on the story document or submission title but provide a short bio as requested in the submission form. All stories are read anonymously so any showing the author’s name will be disqualified.
• Please include the word count at the start or end of the story document.
• Stories must be your own original work and not have been published online or in print, or have won any other competitions (longlisted and shortlisted in other competitions is fine if the story remains unpublished).
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed but if your story wins a prize or is published prior to the winner’s announcement your entry will become ineligible. No refunds of entry fees will be paid.
• By entering the competition you agree to your story being published in the winners’ online anthology.
• Stories can be in any genre apart from children’s fiction.
• You can enter as many times as you like but all entries must be made separately and the entry fee paid each time.
• The judge’s decision is final.
• Cash prize payments will be made through PayPal or via BACS.
• There are no alternative prizes.

From 2023, we have an ongoing Writer-in-Residence Programme for the Retreat West Community.

What does the residency entail?

It's a 6-month programme for writers of fiction who want to develop their teaching skills alongside their writing and be part of a friendly and welcoming online community. It's open to all writers around the world as long as they are fluent speaking and writing in English. We welcome applications from all regardless of gender, race, class, sexual orientation or religious affiliation.

During the 6-month period you will:

• Teach two 1-hour Zoom workshops for community members on topics to be agreed with Retreat West founder, Amanda Saint. These will take place at 7pm UK time on a weekday evening so if you are in a different timezone please ensure this is doable for you.
• Host four 1-hour Zoom feedback sessions for community members to get feedback on their flash fictions. These will take place at 3pm UK time on a weekday afternoon so if you are in a different timezone please ensure this is doable for you.
• Write 3 craft development blog posts for the community site on topics to be agreed.
• Be an active member of the online community - starting conversations and responding to other members' posts.

In return you will get a benefits package with a value of approx. £1320

• A monthly stipend of £50, which will be paid once a month for the 6-month period. You will need to invoice for this. Value: £300 for the 6-month period
• One year’s Community Collaborator membership to the Retreat West community. Value: £35
• Tickets to all events we host, including the Flash Fiction Festival and our Saturday workshop series during the year of membership. If you can’t attend live you can get the recordings for them all. Approx. value of package: £405 (based on us running 3 Zoom workshops a month and 2 Flash Fest a year)
• Monthly Zoom mentoring chats with Amanda Saint to help you further develop your writing and teaching skills; and learn about running a creative venture if this is also of interest to you. Value: £450
• One year's subscription to the Retreat West Substack and Amanda Saint's Mindful Writer Substack. Value: £130

You will need:

• A publication history in fiction - this can be novels, short stories, or flash/micro fictions - and have been published in the past 2 years. You will need to provide links to demonstrate this.
• To have taught at least 1 creative writing workshop previously and be able to provide either a link to watch a snippet of you teaching, or a recommendation from someone who has taken a workshop with you.

When does it start?

It is a rolling programme starting every 6 months. The first residency starts in September 2023 and we are now reading applications for this. Applications are now open for:

• Next start date: 1st March 2024 - 31st August 2024
• Deadline for applications: 14th January 2024
• Application processing fee: £10

How to apply

• Applications are via Submittable only and must be submitted by 23.59 (UK time) on the deadline date.
• Send a 1-page writer CV and a 1-page covering letter detailing why you'd like to be the Writer-in-Residence and give a brief summary of a workshop you'd deliver and a craft article you'd write. Please include these in one document.
• Links to publication history in the past 2 years.
• A link to a video of you teaching, or you can include a recommendation from someone who has taken a workshop with you.

If you have any questions, please message us on news@retreatwest.co.uk and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.