Entry Rules

Our Entry Rules 2026

Please read our rules of entry before entering the competition. If you have entered previously and received feedback, you may re-enter the same novel. As all entries must be anonymous, please remember to check your name does not appear anywhere on your manuscript or synopsis, including title pages, headers and footers.

• Our 2026 novel competition will be open to entries from 00:01 on 15th April 2026. We close to entries at midnight GMT on 1st July 2026. If you are entering from overseas, please note the competition opening and closing times are based on GMT (UK) time.

• You can enter as many novels as you wish - each novel entry fee is £29 and must be entered as separate submissions via our submissions portal.

• You can enter the same novel from previous years. Previous long-listed and shortlisted entrants may enter.

• Your entry must be your own original work and not: (i) copied from any other person; and/or (ii) created using any artificial intelligence or other similar technology. By entering this competition, you are agreeing that we may check your work for copying and/or the use of artificial intelligence in its creation. If we believe artificial intelligence has been used, we reserve the right to withdraw your entry from the competition.

• The competition is open to writers over the age of eighteen, of any nationality and resident in any country. However, all entries must be written in English. Please note we only accept word documents and not PDF’s.

• The Cheshire Novel Prize is open to unpublished or self-published, un-angented novelists of every genre including fictional memoir and memoir. Unfortunately we do not accept Children’s novels but we do accept YA for both the children’s prize and the adult prize. However if you are writing in any other genre for children other than YA, we do not accept that.

• Unpublished or self published means you have not had a traditional publishing deal. In other words you have not been signed to a  commercial publisher or an independent publisher where you have received a formal publishing contracting/or an advance and/or royalties. This only applies to novels. If you have published academic papers, or short stories or have been included in an anthology, you may still enter.

• Self-published writers may enter as long as they are un-agented at the time of entry.

• Sponsored places for underrepresented writers applies to all nationalities worldwide. Our sponsored place portal to apply for sponsored entries opens on 15th April 2026 and closes at 9am on 20th June 2026 to allow our team time to process any last minute entries. Unfortunately anyone applying for a sponsored place after this time, will not be approved and no correspondence can be entered into. Please do not apply for a sponsored place unless you are ready to enter your novel in the competition. One sponsored place only is permitted per person.

• Entrants keep full copyright of their work. However, by entering the competition, you as the writer gives Cheshire Novel Prize permission to post a small first chapter extract of all shortlisted entries on our website, plus the novel titles and names and novel titles of our long-listed entrants. Having this published on our website does not affect your chances in the future of pursuing or securing a publishing deal or an agent.

• Novels and memoirs/fictional memoirs must be the entrant’s original work and at least 60,000 words on its completion.

• Entrants must not be employed by Cheshire Novel Prize. Entrants who are employed by our judges or their organisations may not apply. Previous entrants can apply even if you have been shortlisted or long-listed.

• Entries may not be altered after submission.

• The entry fee is £29.00 per novel. If you pay for an entry and do not submit your work on time, we cannot refund you. You may withdraw your entry at any time, but we cannot refund you the entry fee.

• This year we have a Top 100, a Top 50 and a Top 20. The Top 100 will be announced shortly before the long-list is announced. We will email the writers directly. The Top 50 and Top 20 will be announced shortly before the shortlist announcment. All writers making our Top 100, 50 and 20 will receive a 1.5 hour live taught workshop led by Sara Naidine Cox.

• Please format your work in a word document and not a PDF or Pages. Please submit the first 5,000 words of your novel followed by a 500 word synopsis on the SAME document so that the synopsis is pasted directly underneath your 5,000 words and headed ‘Synopsis.’ Please include plot spoilers in your synopsis. Your synopsis will not be published or discussed at any time. Please format your document including your synopsis to 12 pt. font and 1.5 line spacing. Please save your document as the name of your novel and not your name. For example: The Game of Thrones. Your name should not appear on the document that you upload, we identify you via your unique ID number which is generated when you enter. All entries must be anonymous.

• You may go over or under the 5,000 words submission by up to 500 words either side in order for you to finish the novel submission in the best possible place. You may also go over or under the synopsis word count by 50 words. We don’t penalise for less word count or more word count, providing it does not go under or over, the above guidelines.

• Long-listed novels will be announced in September 2026. We ask all long-listed writers to send us an additional 15,000 words including the original 5,000 words to make 20,000 words, plus your 500 word synopsis. We reserve the right to move our longlisting, shortlisting or winners announcement if necessary. However, if this is the case, we agree to communicate this as promptly we can to entrants with an alternative date. We will always endeavour to ensure where possible this is avoided, but sometimes circumstances beyond our control may mean dates have to be moved on occasion or sometimes our judges need more time to decide.

• Shortlisted novels will be announced in November 2026. Upon shortlisting, we will invite you to send your synopsis, and full manuscript as separate documents. Any writers unable to submit the full manuscript will, unfortunately, be disqualified.

• All long-listed and shortlisted writers will receive a 30 minute 1-1 with our judging agents as part of the entry fee. Dates TBC.

• If you are long-listed or shortlisted, we will send you an email shortly before the Twitter announcement and the announcement on our website and other social media. If your novel’s name is not featured on our social media announcements or listed on our blog as being long-listed or shortlisted, then you have not been long-listed or shortlisted. We cannot enter into any correspondence about long-listing or shortlisting.

• If you are long-listed or shortlisted for Cheshire Novel Prize, we will announce the winning writers names and novel titles when our winner and highly commended have been announced. We will post these on our social media platforms and send out a mail-shot. By accepting the long-listing or shortlisting you are giving us permission to publish these. There are no exceptions to this, even if you are shortlisted for another competition whose winner is due to be announced later than the Cheshire Novel Prize announcements. However, long-listing or shortlisting for other competitions is permitted.

• Please do not release the name of your novel if you are long-listed or shortlisted, on social media. However, once the Cheshire Novel Prize has announced the winning book titles, you may say you have been long-listed, but you may not identify your work. If commenting on long-listing/shortlisting on Twitter, please make sure any novel titles are not on your social media headers.

• The overall competition winner will be announced in December 2026 and awarded £1000. One highly commended writer will be announced and win £500. If there are any going winners the prize money will be shared between the winners or highly commended writers.

• We will post the winners names on our website with interviews and excerpts and on our social media.

• The Cheshire Novel Prize will require the winning writer and shortlisted writers to agree to an interview and instagram live with the Cheshire Novel Prize. We will publish the interviews on our website, Twitter account, Facebook and Instagram.

• In common with other awards for unpublished and self-published novels, the judging agents may contact long-listed or shortlisted authors before the winner is announced. However, the winner will have been decided internally before this point, and all entries will have been judged anonymously.

• Any writers offered representation after entry, and/or before the winner is announced, must inform us via email at entry@cheshirenovelprize.com but you need NOT withdraw unless you are offered publication. However, entrants must be un-agented at the time of submission.

• Unfortunately we cannot enter into any correspondence as to why your entry was unsuccessful.

• Any writers entering a document by mistake can contact us within 12 hours of submission and we can help you to submit the correct documents. If there is a technical fault on our website and you cannot submit before the deadline, please send us timed screenshots and an email and we will help you to submit. Your email must be dated and timed before we close at 00:01 on 1st July 2026. Please email us at entry@cheshirenovelprize.com

• The judge’s decision is final and no further correspondence can be entered into.