The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction

Enter The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition

We no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts, but we do offer unpublished and unagented writers of children's fiction the chance to submit their work to the annual Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition. We're looking for original ideas, a fresh voice, a diverse range of entries and stories that children will love! We’d particularly like to encourage entry from writers from underrepresented backgrounds.

First prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000, plus an offer of representation by this year’s agent judge, Louise Lamont from LBA Books. The second prize, the Chairman’s Choice Award, is a publishing contract with a royalty advance of £7,500 plus an offer of representation by Louise Lamont from LBA Books. The prize will be awarded to a manuscript hand-picked by Barry Cunningham, our Publisher and the Chairman of the Judging Panel, for work that promises outstanding potential but requires more editorial input than the overall winner.

To enter, you must have written a completed full-length novel suitable for children/young adults aged somewhere between 7 and 18 years. By full-length we suggest a minimum of 30,000 words and a maximum of 80,000 words.
About The Times/Chicken House Competition
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Competition Terms & Conditions