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Hodderscape to host Mo Siewcharran Prize 2024 with focus on fantasy writing
Hodderscape will host the Mo Siewcharran Prize for 2024, worth £2,500 and a possible book contract, with a focus on fantasy writing.
Launched in 2019, the Mo Siewcharran Prize, named in memory of Nielsen BookData’s former director of marketing and communications, was co-founded and sponsored by her husband John Seaton and aims to nurture talent from underrepresented backgrounds writing in English.
With Nielsen BookData as co-sponsors, it is run as part of Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf, the home for all Hachette UK’s creative writing programmes, and is hosted by different divisions of the publisher each year.
In 2024 Hodder & Stoughton’s science fiction and fantasy imprint, covering both adult and children’s fiction, will host the prize and support an aspiring fantasy author.
Seaton said: “From fiction to crime, from illustrated children’s books to fantasy for adults and young adults. Fantasy is this year’s destination for the Mo Siewcharran Prize. Mo herself, ever open-minded, would have loved the eclectic journeying of the prize. I love it, too, it gives the prize something very distinctive. Long may its travels within Hachette continue.”
Molly Powell, Hodderscape’s publishing director, said: “Hodderscape is truly delighted to be hosting the Mo Siewcharran Prize this year. We have an ongoing commitment to ensuring our portfolio of fantasy writers is as diverse as possible, and this is a wonderful opportunity for us to continue to nurture talent from under-represented backgrounds. We are so excited to focus 2024 on the genre of the moment – fantasy – and to discover some amazing new writers.”
The winner will receive £2,500 prize money plus a detailed letter from a Hodderscape editor giving feedback on their entry and a follow-up online mentoring session. They will also have introductory meetings with at least two different literary agents, an introductory session with the the rights team, meetings with marketing and publicity teams and a ticket to London Book Fair 2025.
The winner’s entry will also be taken forward to a Hodder & Stoughton acquisitions meeting and considered for publication with a competitive advance against royalties, Hachette said. One runner up will receive £1,500 prize money, plus a detailed letter from a Hodderscape editor giving feedback on their entry, and a hamper of Hodderscape books. A second runner up will receive £750 prize money, as well as a hamper of Hodderscape books.
The first round will be judged by members of Hodder & Stoughton and Hachette UK’s THRIVE employee network alongside other Hachette employees, whittling down to 12 entries.
A shortlist of up to six writers will be chosen by Powell, alongside Natasha Qureshi, commissioning editor at Hodderscape, authors Saara El-Arifi and Sangu Mandanna, literary agent Edwina de Charnace of MMB Creative, founder and c.e.o. of FairyLoot subscription box Anissa de Gomery and the co-chair of Hachette UK’s THRIVE network Feyi Oyesanya. The winner and runners-up will be selected by the judges from the shortlisted entries.
Submissions will open on 1st February 2024. Entrants must be unagented at the time of entry and previously unpublished by a publisher, aged 18 or over, resident in the UK and from a Black, Asian, mixed heritage or minority ethnic background.
Entry requirements are the first 10,000 words of the novel and a synopsis of no more than 700 words to be submitted by 1st May 2024 to the competition website.
The judges will be looking for a well-written, page-turning piece of writing that shows a strong sense of story and atmosphere, Hachette said. The publisher added: “It should introduce its reader to a memorable cast of characters and a compelling plot. The novel must sit firmly in the fantasy genre – this can include romantasy, cosy fantasy, dark academia, epic fantasy, low fantasy, contemporary fantasy, portal fantasy etc. It is open to books aimed at young adults and adults.”
Sales of Science Fiction & Fantasy titles have boomed over the last year, with the first 10 months of 2023 almost a quarter up on 2022’s near-record performance, according to Nielsen BookScan.
Last year the award was hosted by Hachette Children’s Group and focused on writers and writer-illustrators in the picture book genre. Mayo Agard-Olubo won for Kid Rex vs the Dastardly Dust Bunnies.
