McBrinn scoops £2.5K Love at First Line competition with The Takeaway Girl

Lokkei McBrinn has won Hodder & Stoughton’s Love at First Line prize, worth £2,500, with her entry The Takeaway Girl.

The publisher launched the competition last summer with author Mike Gayle and the Romantic Novelists’ Association to champion love stories and discover new voices in commercial fiction as well as celebrate 25 years of publishing Gayle.

Aspiring writers with a Black, Asian or mixed-heritage background were asked to submit the first 5,000 words of a commercial novel with a romantic theme, as well as a synopsis of up to 500 words describing the rest of the story.

“The response was fantastic, with the judging team delighted to read so many enthusiastic entries,” Hodder & Stoughton said.

McBrinn won with her submission, The Takeaway Girl, which “wowed the judges”, the publisher said.

The novel is a contemporary romance exploring what it means to be a first-generation immigrant pulled in different directions. Set in 2002, May’s carefully constructed life in London is under threat when lay-offs are announced at work and her "perfect" relationship with two-timing colleague, Sam, is at an end.

Then her sister calls with the news that the family’s Chinese takeaway is being investigated by the tax authorities. May, who has worked hard to escape the confines of home, has no choice but to return to Newcastle to help. Amidst these complications, she finds herself clashing with her neighbour Theo. Despite the unpromising start, May soon finds herself opening up to Theo and a budding romance blooms.

McBrinn will receive a cash prize of £2,500 and a 45-minute virtual feedback session with Gayle to discuss her writing. In addition, she will get four one-hour virtual mentoring sessions with a commissioning editor from Hodder & Stoughton and entry onto the RNA New Writers Scheme, worth £195.

McBrinn said: “I can’t believe that my entry has been selected by such an esteemed panel to be the winner. I am grateful for the chance to develop my writing and it has given me the motivational boost to keep going with my story.”

Three runners-up were also selected including Roann Gutierrez with Tabaching, Malika Gandhi with The Letters of Yesteryear and Camille Poole with Good Timing.

The runners-up will receive vouchers for RNA writing courses, a bundle of romantic fiction novels published by Hodder & Stoughton, and a 500-word written critique on their entry from a member of the judging panel.

The panel included Gayle, Ariella Feiner of United Agents, Nick Sayers, publisher at Hodder Fiction, Jean Fullerton, chair of the RNA along with Radio DJ and host of the Capital XTRA Book Club Leah Davies,  

Sayers said: “We had a good response to the competition, with many striking voices telling stories that came at life from many different angles: warm, humorous and sometimes painful. We are grateful to Mike and the judges for their wholehearted participation – we had a lively and enjoyable debate and I think we found an excellent winner and three very worthy runners-up.”

Feiner commented: “Amid some very fierce competition, The Takeaway Girl really stood out to the panel as an exciting winner. It has been rewarding working on this prize and ensuring that so many diverse voices have been given the ability to access truly rewarding and helpful prizes, which we hope will prove helpful to the authors in their writing process.”

Hodder & Stoughton unveiled a branding revamp last month including a new logo featuring a stoat.