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Unbound has reopened submissions for its Unbound Firsts imprint, which spotlights and publishes debut writers of colour.
The imprint has an annual subscription package, publishing two books every year. Two chosen writers will be paid £1,000 and receive a publishing deal, in addition to having their novel published. Shortlisted writers not selected to be published will receive a full manuscript report from the editorial team, followed by a 30-minute chat with an editor.
Selected writers will be invited to attend an "onboarding" workshop in April, which will include an introduction to the different stages of publishing a book, an overview of the editorial, design and production processes, a "jargon-busting" session and the opportunity to ask the Unbound team questions.
Submissions will close on 30th November 2022 and the six shortlisted writers will be announced on 13th February, with the final two writers selected for publication announced on 2nd May 2023.
The imprint’s inaugural titles include Solange Burrell’s novel Yeseni and the Daughter of Peace and Paul David Gould’s literary thriller Last Dance at the Discotheque for Deviants. Proof copies of both titles will be available in January 2023, before publication on 8th June.
This year, Bloomsbury Festival received support from Arts Council England to platform talented writers of colour and both Burrell and Gould will be appearing at a free panel event on 22nd October at the Brockway Room in Conway Hall, central London. The authors will give a talk about their publishing journey and share readings from their novels, before they publicly launch in June 2023.
Gould said: “Being published by Unbound Firsts not only strikes a blow for under-represented minorities—writers of colour, LGBT writers, working-class writers—it also is also a blazing light at the end of a long, long tunnel."
Editorial lead Aliya Gulamani added: "I’m so incredibly proud of Unbound Firsts, a space that we have created here at Unbound to discover and publish talented writers of colour. Our first titles are absolutely brilliant, and I can’t wait to discover our next two titles—send us your stories!"