I am in Print launches £1,000 writing prize with Canelo

The I Am In Print events brand has partnered with independent publisher Canelo to host its inaugural Novel Award for unagented writers of unpublished adult fiction worth £1,000.

The prize, sponsored and judged by digital publisher Canelo, is open to writers globally and entries for completed manuscripts, written in English and across eight genres. The first prize includes £1,000 and a one-hour online consultation with a Canelo editor.

Additionally low-income writers can enter for free, and those who fall within underrepresented groups and members of the I Am In Print writing community The Writing Sphere, may receive a 50% discount upon application. Submissions close on 9th October at 10 a.m.

As part of the award entry ticket, access to a selection of masterclasses will be offered by Canelo on 30th November. The winners will be announced publicly at this live event.

Louise Cullen, publisher director for Canelo, says: "Canelo has such admiration for the I Am in Print team and shares their passion for making stories accessible to all, whether writing them or reading them. It’s a privilege to be able to join forces on this inaugural award and we hope that in doing so Canelo will help demonstrate to budding novelists that publishing is for them, and publishers want to hear what they have to say.

"The team at Canelo have a long history of nurturing talent and putting their support behind debut writers of commercial fiction. This is a brilliant opportunity for those looking to gain recognition for their writing and I hope we’ll see a lot of exciting new voices emerge from this competition." 

Sarah Post and Elane Retford, co-founders of I am in Print, said: "Each week we meet writers from all over the world in our writing community who have such brilliant storytelling ability so to offer this opportunity to present their work to one of the largest independent digitally focused publishers in Europe is a huge honour.  

“Both Canelo and ourselves are keen to support those who are truly struggling financially too. It’s really important for the two of us as women from low-income backgrounds to offer the free option to help where we can. So many talented writers may be sitting undiscovered simply because opportunities aren’t available to them so we really hope that this award opens an unexpected door.

“Our competitions attached to the past two I Am Writing Festival events have helped several writers find agenting and publishing homes so we are excited to see these entries come in, hoping that somewhere in among them could be the next big novel just waiting to get out."

The I am Writing team took over the Winchester Writers’ Festival last year.

For more details, visit iaminprint.co.uk.