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Daily Mail First Novel Competition

Information
Closing date: 
16 April 2016
Entry: 
Open to UK and Irish writers of 16 and over No entry fee
Prize: 
A £20,000 advance fee, the services of a top literary agent — and guaranteed publication by Penguin Random House UK

Your chance to become a novelist! Everyone thinks they've got a bestseller in them. Now you can prove it. Send us the start of your masterpiece. The winner gets a book deal - with a £20,000 advance!

The Mail and one of the world's biggest, most respected publishers launch a search for the UK's brightest new literary talent.

Could you be the next Paula Hawkins, author of last year's hugely successful The Girl On The Train, or the world's best-selling thriller writer James Patterson? Many of us may dream of writing a bestseller, but getting a novel published in today's competitive book market is a daunting prospect. Until now.

Today, the Mail and one of the world's biggest, most respected publishers launch a search for the UK's brightest new literary talent - and the prize is every author's fantasy.

The winner of our competition will receive a £20,000 advance fee, the services of a top literary agent - and guaranteed publication by Penguin Random House UKPenguin Random House have more than 50 creative and autonomous imprints, publishing the very best books for all audiences, covering fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children’s books, autobiographies and much more. Click for Random House UK Publishers References listing.

Your story can be a romance, a thriller, a sci-fi adventure, a contemporary tale or an historical one, as long as it is aimed at adults (not children) and is previously unpublished.

Entrants must never have had a novel published before (in any format, including ebook or self-published) and must be 16 or over - but don't worry, there's no upper age limit!

And we don't need the finished novel - just the first 5,000 words plus a 600-word synopsis of the complete work.

But before you send anything, read the advice from the experts. See our link to the Mail on Sunday site.

Literary agent Luigi Bonomi, who receives thousands of unsolicited manuscripts every year, explains how to make yours stand out. And Selina Walker, one of publishing's most respected editors, tells you the vital elements that a successful novel must have.

They will judge the competition, along with best-selling crime writer Simon Kernick and The Daily Mail's Literary Editor, Sandra Parsons.

And finally, to help you get started, two internationally famous authors explain how they did it - and give advice on how you can do it, too.

Please submit your entry consisting of the first 5,000 words of your novel in the English language, and a synopsis of the rest of the plot in no more than 600 words. All entries to be printed on A4 paper with double spacing in font size 12 point Times New Roman.

Entries are to be posted, couriered or hand delivered (not emailed) to Daily Mail First Novel Competition, c/o Penguin Random House Group, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA by 17.30 GMT on SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2016. Entries received after this date will not be judged. (DO NOT SEND YOUR ENTRY DIRECT TO THE DAILY MAIL.)

Please read the other submission details on the website.

For further details

Closing date: 
16 April 2016
Entry: 
Open to UK and Irish writers of 16 and over No entry fee
Prize: 
A £20,000 advance fee, the services of a top literary agent — and guaranteed publication by Penguin Random House UK