Killer Fiction – Crime & Thriller Competition #seanocarolan.com #Writing #contest

Killer Fiction – Crime & Thriller Competition

Writers & Artists are excited to announce a new competition dedicated exclusively to crime and thriller writing. Whether you have a polished manuscript sitting at home, have just completed your first draft or are only a few thousand words in, we want you to submit up to the first 2,000 words of your page-turner. This is your chance to get your work in front of a literary agent and receive expert feedback to help you on your journey towards publication.

To enter the competition and be in with the chance of winning our brilliant prizes, all you have to do is enter up to the first 2,000 words of a crime/thriller manuscript (for adults) and email it to crimecomp@bloomsbury.com with "Killer fiction competition" as the subject line.

We’re offering you the chance to win a pair of tickets to our upcoming Writing Crime & Thriller Fiction event on Saturday 19th September – with talks from literary agents, bestselling authors and creative writing tutors – the latest edition of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook and a book bundle including all four of Thomas Mogford’s Spike Sanguinetti mysteries, Close Call by Stella Rimington, the W&A Companion Guide to Novel Writing and the W&A Companion Guide to Crime and Thriller Writing. Most importantly, you’ll receive direct feedback from a literary agent on your work. Two runners-up will receive a copy of the W&A Companion Guide to Novel Writing and the W&A Companion Guide to Crime and Thriller Writing.

The closing date is midnight on Friday 31st July 2015. The winners of the competition will be announced on this site in August 2015.

Don't forget to read the full details, terms and conditions (below) before you enter. Please remember to register on www.writersandartists.co.uk before submitting your entry, or it will not be valid.
Good luck!


This year's competition will be judged by literary agent Diana Beaumont. Diana has recently joined The Agency Group. She started agenting with Rupert Heath Literary Agency in 2011. Prior to this she was a senior commissioning editor at Transworld where she published numerous bestselling authors, after studying English at Oxford. Diana was chosen as one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars of 2012. Books she’s represented range from ground-breaking cookbook THE MEATLIQUOR CHRONICLES by Yianni Papoutsis and Scott Collins to Man Booker longlisted THE MARRYING OF CHANI KAUFMAN by Eve Harris. She is actively looking to build her crime list – especially psychological thrillers, thrillers and police procedurals with a strong protagonist and hook. Her clients in this area include Claire McGowan and Angela Clarke.

For more information about our Writing Crime and Thriller Fiction event, take a look here.

Terms & Conditions

These are the full terms and conditions for the Writers’ and Artists’ Crime & Thriller Competition.

1. No purchase necessary, but entrants must be registered on www.writersandartists.co.uk.

2. The competition is open to all ages, professions and nationalities, and you don’t have to reside in the UK to enter. However, if you win, Writers & Artists are unable to cover any travel costs you may incur in attending the event.

3. All entries must be original unpublished prose of 2,000 words or fewer.

4. Writers may submit one entry only.

5. Winners will be notified at the email address stated in their entry. Sign-up for the Writing newsletter here if you want to be notified about the winner or check back on www.writersandartists.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook, where competition updates will also be posted.

6. Entries must be submitted via email to crimecomp@bloomsbury.com with the subject heading: 'Killer fiction competition'

Please include your email address and other contact details in the body of the email. Your entry can appear in the body of the email or as a Word/PDF attachment. As long as it’s clear and easy to read, we have no other formatting requirements.

7. Your entry must be submitted before midnight on Friday 31st July 2015. Entries will not be accepted after this date.

8. By submitting, all entrants thereby grant The Bloomsbury Publishing Group the right to publish their entry on www.writersandartists.co.uk in the event of their work being shortlisted and/or winning the competition.

9. The Bloomsbury Publishing Group cannot accept responsibility for entries which are not received or which are received after the closing date due to technical failure or for any other reason.

10. Winners agree to participate in publicity events in connection with the competition.

11. The Bloomsbury Publishing Group and the winners may enter into agreements which will grant The Bloomsbury Publishing Group the publishing, broadcasting, serial and electronic rights in the shortlisted and winning entries.

12. The Bloomsbury Publishing Group reserves the right to change the rules of this competition without notice.

13. The winner of the competition will be notified in August 2015 and the winning entry published on www.writersandartists.co.uk.

14. Prizes must be taken by 31 December 2015 and are subject to availability.

15. The decision of the competition judges will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

16. Employees of The Bloomsbury Publishing Group, and members of their immediate family, are excluded from participating in the competition.

17. We may, from time to time, inform you of new books and special offers that we think will be of interest.

18. Please send direct competition queries to waybcustomerservices@bloomsbury.com