Richard and Judy search for Unpublished Author. £30,000 Publishing Deal.

The Richard and Judy Book Club – the biggest book club in Britain – is widely relied upon by readers to provide an abundance of writing talent a chance to shine, from debut novelists to highly acclaimed authors. In the time since they first teamed up with WHSmith to launch the book club, reading, reviewing and discovering new authors has remained something that the couple are truly passionate about.

And so, once again, Richard and Judy have launched a lucrative competition to find a first-time author with the potential to become a bestselling writer. ‘Search for a Bestseller’, supported by WHSmith, will be accepting manuscripts from unpublished authors from 19th April 2018 to 14th June 2018. Richard and Judy will then be leading the selection process, helped by editors and agents, to choose a winner who will receive a £30,000 publishing deal with Bonnier Zaffre and specialist advice from literary agency Furniss Lawton.

Richard Madeley commented: “Judy and I are so excited to host the “search for a bestseller” competition, it gives us a chance to keep doing what we both love - reading and discovering a fantastic title for our devoted Book Club audience. We can’t wait to read the submissions!”

To enter Search for a Bestseller, aspiring authors must submit 10,000 words of original fiction aimed at adults, as well as a synopsis of the full novel, via the entry form below. Scroll down for the full terms and conditions, FAQs and to submit your manuscript via our entry form. Good luck!

A Letter from Richard and Judy

If there’s one thing we’ve discovered in picking bestselling titles for our Richard and Judy Book Club, it is just how many fantastic new writers are out there. Since forming the club with WH Smith, we are proud to have launched the careers of a host of exciting debut authors. We were also delighted with the well deserved success of the previous winners of our Search for a Bestseller competition. Both Tracy Rees (author of Amy Snow) and Caz Frear (author of Sweet Little Lies) have enjoyed fantastic sales

So now it could be your turn to see your book in print. Together with publisher Bonnier Zaffre, and WH Smith, we’re on the hunt once again for talented new writers, and when we find one of them we’re going to put them firmly on the road to a £30,000 publishing deal.

Are you our next bestseller? We want to meet you.






A Note from Bonnier Zaffre

What we’re looking for in a bestseller… Ah – the question to which everyone in the publishing business from authors and agents to publishers and booksellers wants the answer! Of course, it’s subjective, of course personal taste, timing, and whatever else is going on in the world outside comes in to it, but for us it’s all about the story. We want to read a book that immediately draws us into the author’s universe, a book that introduces us to a character or a situation that feels fresh and original, a story that convinces us from the beginning that it is being told truthfully and with integrity. And while there will always be exceptions, we think books that can be simply and compellingly described will always have the best chance of finding a large audience. We’re social animals and we love to share news of things or experiences we love, so if we can sum up exactly what it is about a novel we’ve enjoyed in a few sentences and want to tell our friends all about it, that suggests we’ve got a winner on our hands.

And if this sounds a bit abstract, here are some things we love to see in submissions – and some things we’re a bit less keen on…

We love:

1. authors who keep their audience in mind as they write

2. authors who have read widely in the genre they are working in

3. authors who have a clear sense of the narrative arc of their story

4. characters we believe in and like – whether they are good or bad!

We’re less keen on:

1. novels that are largely autobiographical

2. novels with large casts of characters it’s impossible to keep track of

3. novels that open with a long description of a hangover…

But above all – like readers everywhere – we want to read novels that captivate, engage and excite us, novels that take us somewhere else, that keep us turning the pages. So if you think you have got what it takes to be the Richard and Judy Bestseller of 2018 – we can’t wait to hear from you!

How do you enter?

To enter Search for a Bestseller simply fill in your details in the form below and upload your 10,000 word extract (plus a plot synopsis and short author biography within the same document) for consideration. Your entry must be submitted by the 14th June 2018 to be considered. Please read the full terms and conditions and FAQs before entering.

ENTER HERE