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London Writers Awards

THE LONDON WRITERS AWARDS IS SPREAD THE WORD’S ANNUAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR TALENTED LONDON WRITERS.

Applications will open on Wednesday 25 September and close at 5pm on Thursday 31 October.

Originally launched in 2018, the London Writers Awards aims to increase the number of writers from under-represented communities being taken up by agents and publishers. It has supported 120 writers and has become the most successful writer development scheme in the UK with 50 writers agented and over 35 book deals. In 2025 a new iteration of the London Writers Awards will be returning thanks to a generous philanthropic donation by Sam and Rosie Berwick.

The Awards will focus on three genres of prose writing: literary fiction (including short stories), commercial fiction (for e.g.: crime, science fiction, romance), and YA/children’s fiction (including middle grade and Young Adult fiction but excluding picture books). Each year, there will be 24 spaces on the programme: 12 for literary fiction, 6 for commercial fiction and 6 for YA/children’s fiction.

The Awards are free to participate in. Bursaries will be available for writers on a low-income and there is also an Access Fund for disabled writers.

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE LONDON WRITERS AWARDS

Applications will open on Wednesday 25 September at midday and close on Thursday 31 October at 5pm.

The London Writers Awards Application Pack gives details on eligibility, bursaries, access, FAQs and terms and conditions.

Please click here to download the Application Pack in text pdf format. You can also view it here:

Please click here to access the Application Pack information in BSL video and Audio:

Please click here to download the inclusive read version of the Application Pack.

To help you prepare you application we have created a drafting document with the questions we ask and additional information. Please click here to download the drafting document.

How to apply to the London Writers Awards

There are 3 options on how to apply for the programme:

  1. Online Application Form via Submittable (text only)
  2. Online Application Form for Audio or Video Submissions via Submittable
  3. Paper Form for Postal Entry (large print)

Please note that the Submittable options will be live from midday on Wednesday 25 September.

For Option 1, we ask that you apply via Submittable for the genre you are writing in:

Commercial Fiction: https://spreadtheword.submittable.com/submit/303564/london-writers-awards-2025-commercial-fiction

Literary Fiction: https://spreadtheword.submittable.com/submit/303563/london-writers-awards-2025-literary-fiction

YA/Children’s Fiction: https://spreadtheword.submittable.com/submit/303565/london-writers-awards-2025-ya-childrens-fiction

For Option 2, there is one form on Submittable, where you choose the genre group:

https://spreadtheword.submittable.com/submit/203524/london-writers-awards-2025-audio-or-video-submission

Please note that the extract from your project must still be uploaded as a text file.

For Option 3, you can download the Postal Entry Form by clicking here.

Please post your entry to:

London Writers Awards
Spread the Word,
The Albany,
Douglas Way,
London
SE8 4AG

Please ensure that you post it so we receive it before the deadline of 5pm on Thursday 31 October.

Late entries will not be considered. After you apply for the London Writers Awards, you will receive an automatic email confirming receipt of your application. Your application will be read anonymously by a team of first readers who will make recommendations to the London Writers Awards judges and the Spread the Word team.

A shortlist of applicants will be invited to an interview with the Spread the Word team on one of the following dates:

Tuesday 21 January 2025 – Literary Fiction A and YA/Children’s Fiction interviews
Wednesday 22 January 2025 – Literary Fiction B interviews
Thursday 23 January 2025 – Commercial Fiction Interviews

Spread the Word will contact everyone who submits an application by 9 January.

WHO ARE THE AWARDS FOR?  

The Awards are for London-based prose writers from a background currently underrepresented in publishing. We consider these backgrounds to be:

– Black, Asian, or Global Majority*
– D/deaf and Disabled
– LGBTQIA+
– Working Class Upbringing
– On a Low Income**

*Global Majority defined as Black, Indigenous and people of colour.

**Writers whose income is through benefits or paid on or below the London Living Wage hourly rate, and whose savings do not exceed the amount needed to pay for three months of living costs (rent, gas and electricity, food etc.).

Writers are  selected through  a free and open application process. The  programme  is for writers who  are committed to developing their work, their craft and their career.  

WHAT HAPPENS ON THE PROGRAMME?  

The programme will be delivered online and in person at accessible venues. Awardees become part of a critical feedback group meeting twice a month. Critical feedback groups are a proven way to take writing forward, and participants will receive feedback on their work at least four times. The first seven sessions will also be facilitated by an experienced writer.

There will be five craft masterclasses run by professional authors, and three career masterclasses run by industry speakers and experts. The career masterclasses will help Awardees to build industry and business knowledge and gain practical skills.

Awardees take part in two WritersLabs. The first WritersLab is an opportunity for writers get to know their peers; ask questions about the programme; be introduced to the critical feedback model through their group facilitator; meet and hear from the Judges and alumni of the programme.

The second WritersLab is where writers will get to network with invited editors, publishers and agents.

All Awardees receive 1-2-1 professional development sessions with members of the Spread the Word team to support their development, progress and wellbeing whilst on the programme. Towards the end of the programme a booklet featuring the Awardees’ projects will be distributed to over 300 agents and editors.

CALL OUT TO THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

If you are a publisher, agent or professional writer and interested in finding out more  about  becoming a supporter,  partner or patron  to the London Writers Awards, please contact  Bobby Nayyar at Spread the Word: [email protected]

The Awards are supported through a philanthropic donation by Sam and Rosie Berwick.

Judges for 2025

Jyoti Patel

Literary Fiction


Oisín McKenna

Literary Fiction


Nilesha Chauvet

Commercial Fiction


Tọlá Okogwu

YA/Children's Fiction


Emma Leong

Literary Fiction


Cara Lee Simpson

Literary Fiction


Oli Munson

Commercial Fiction


Lorna Hemingway

YA/Children's Fiction


Books by London Writers Awards Alumni

Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands, published by Orion Publishing in June 2024

Literary Fiction Alumni 2021


Northern Boy by Iqbal Hussain, published by Unbound Firsts in June 2024

Commercial Fiction Alumni 2018


Portraits at the Palace of Creativity and Wrecking by Han Smith, published by JM Originals in June 2024

Literary Fiction Alumni 2020


Open Windows by Merrie Joy Williams, published by Waterloo Press in November 2019

Poetry Alumni 2019


Shield by Jamie Hale, published by Verve Poetry Press in January 2021

Poetry Alumni 2019


Jaz Santos vs The World by Priscilla Mante, published by Puffin Books in May 2021

Children's and YA Alumni 2019


Darling Girl by S Niroshini, published by Bad Betty Press in May 2021

Literary Fiction Alumni 2020


Assembly by Natasha Brown, published by Hamish Hamilton in June 2021

Literary Fiction Alumni 2020


The Mismatch by Sara Jafari, published by Cornerstone in June 2021

Literary Fiction Alumni 2019


The Appendix: Transmasculine Joy in a Transphobic Culture by Liam Konemann published by 404 Ink in July 2021

Literary Fiction Alumni 2020


Mercy by Eleanor Penny, published by Flipped Eye Publishing in July 2021

Literary Fiction Alumni 2021


Keeping the House by Tice Cin, published by And Other Stories in September 2021

Literary Fiction Alumni 2019


Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures by Adam Zmith, published by Watkins Media in September 2021

Literary Fiction Alumni 2020


Ghostcloud by Michael Mann, published by Hachette in October 2021

Children's and YA Alumni 2020


Marv and the Mega Robot by Alex Falase-Koya, illustrated by Paula Bowles, published by Oxford University Press in January 2022

Children's and YA Alumni 2019


The Barman by Helen Bowell, published by Bad Betty Press in January 2022

Poetry Alumni 2019


First Time for Everything by Henry Fry, published by Orion Books in June 2022

Commercial Fiction Alumni 2020


The Next To Die by Eliot F. Sweeney, forthcoming publication by Hachette in February 2023

Commercial Fiction Alumni 2020


One Small Voice by Santanu Bhattacharya, published by Fig Tree in February 2023

Literary Fiction Alumni 2021


Higher Education by Kira McPherson, published by Ultimo Press in February 2023

Literary Fiction Alumni 2019


Windward Family by Alexis Keir, published by Thread Books in February 2023

Narrative Non-Fiction Alumni 2020


Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin, published by Fourth Estate in March 2023

Literary Fiction Alumni 2021


Verge by Nadia Attia, published by Serpent's Tail in May 2023

Children's and Young Adult Fiction Alumni 2020


Yomi and the Fury of Ninki Nanka by Davina Tijani, published by Little Tiger Press Group in July 2023

Children's and Young Adult Fiction Alumni 2020


Winter Animals by Ashani Lewis, published by Dialogue Books in February 2024

Literary Fiction Alumni 2021


A Trace of Sun by Pam Williams, published by Legend Press in March 2024

Commercial Fiction Alumni 2020


Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newland, published by Phoenix in June 2024

Literary Fiction Alumni 2021


Portraits at the Palace of Creativity and Wrecking by Han Smith, published by John Murray Press in June 2024

Literary Fiction Alumni 2020


Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna, published by Fourth Estate in July 2024

Literary Fiction Alumni 2022


The Uprising of Rita Marsh by Nilesha Chauvet, published by Faber in July 2024

Commercial Fiction Alumni 2021


Partners

A. M. Heath


Bell Lomax Moreton


Janklow & Nesbit


Susanna Lea Associates