Book Edit Community News Round-Up

It's been a while since our last update, and what a lot has happened! Read on for the latest from our community – a testament to the ongoing relationships we cherish with our authors long after their projects are complete.

Publication Successes

Last year's Writers' Prize judge Lara Haworth has been shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize for her phenomenal debut novel, Monumenta. The McKitterick Prize celebrates outstanding first novels by writers over 40, and this follows Lara being shortlisted for the Nero Prize late last year – a wonderful double recognition.

Jo Cunningham is publishing the second in her cosy crime series this August. Her debut, Death By Numbers, was released last year to rave reviews, and A Calculated Murder sees a return for amateur sleuth and actuary Una McMurray, this time set at an international cat show. Expect the usual deadpan comedy and clever craft in this novel too.

Award-winning novelist Hannah Begbie has published her stunning third novel, The Last Weekend, a compelling portrait of female friendships and secrets set over one dramatic weekend by the sea in Dorset. For more about Hannah’s other novels, visit her website HERE.

Nick Shepherd, has published his compelling memoir Changing Through War & Peace, My Life in Five Countries. From surviving the London Blitz to commanding field guns through the jungles of Malaya, to becoming CEO of a major cultural Institution in Mexico, Nick’s life embodies the transforming power of embracing difference. Speaking of his wonderful book, Nick generously has said ‘if the contents are coherent and orderly, it is due to ‘The Book Edit’s’ meticulous care.’ Watch this space for an interview to celebrate the launch of his memoir.

Writers' Prize winner Kay Inkle has sold her debut climate fiction thriller, Overspill, to SRL Publishing. Climate fiction (or ‘cli-fi’) explores our relationship with environmental change, and Kay's thriller promises to be a gripping entry to the genre. Watch this space for an interview with Kay ahead of publication.

Writers' Prize longlisted author Chris Bridges has released his debut psychological thriller, Sick to Death (Avon) to fantastic reviews, with the Guardian calling it 'deliciously dark and twisted, and a lot of fun.'

Book Edit Editor and host of the Writers' Prize, Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone, has been awarded a PhD by the Open University for her novel, All the Hollow Places. Her supervisor said, 'This is an original, ambitious novel, formally innovative, covering a rich and sensitive period of political and cultural history and offers the reader a creative engagement with an individual life as well as making a formal interrogation of, and intervention in, conventional narrative design in contemporary fiction.' This academic achievement further strengthens the depth of editorial expertise we bring to our clients' work.

Dr Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone

And on a more personal note – my ten-year-old son has started work on the second volume of his manga, The Definitely Normal School! For anyone interested in the first volume, published last year, you can find a copy HERE, and if you're with Kindle Unlimited it's currently £0.00!

Opportunities

We're hard at work behind the scenes to bring you 2025's Writers' Prize. Full details of this year's judge and submission deadlines will be available by July. If you want to make sure you're on the list to hear about this first, sign up HERE.

Writers' Prize winner Hannah Hoare has teamed up with Newcastle University to run a science fiction short story competition, spotlighting DNA data storage as a revolutionary theme. Three prizes of £750-250, plus top stories to be published in an anthology.

The Novelry are offering a staggering £75,000 prize for their new writing competition. Full details are HERE.

For further writing prize competitions and opportunities, visit Penguin's comprehensive list HERE.

And finally…

I'm currently teaching The Story Within online with a wonderful group of writers and continuing to love the sense of engagement and community that is being generated. If you'd like to join me next term, do watch this space or email me on Emily@thebookedit.co.uk to be first to know when the next course is released.

That's all from me. I hope you're all thriving and managing to carve out some creative space for yourselves in this mad busy world.

The Book Edit Writers' Prize 2024 Launches Today

We are thrilled to announce the launch today of the Book Edit Writers' Prize 2024, an initiative dedicated to discovering and promoting talented, unpublished novelists.

A Platform for Emerging Talent

The eight winners of the competition will get to present their work at an online Zoom showcase in front of invited industry guests, with an anthology of their work and a recording of the showcase featured on The Book Edit’s official website. They also will have the opportunity to train and rehearse for the showcase event, and all participants will receive guidance on other options including mentoring, editing and courses.

As an added benefit this year, we will also record and spotlight the shortlisted entries to create exposure for more writers.

“It was an honour to win last year’s Book Edit Writers’ Prize. It kickstarted my career as a writer. I’d recommend that any aspiring writer of colour apply.”
— Pavan Amara, 2023 Winner

Writers’ Prize Judge 2024 Lara Haworth

Meet our Judge, Lara Haworth

We’re delighted to welcome Lara Haworth as the judge for this year’s prize. Lara is an artist and novelist, and author of the acclaimed Monumenta.

“I am honoured to judge this year’s Book Edit Writer’s Prize. The talent of the shortlisted writers over the last four years demonstrates both the strength of the competition and the continued need to carve out a space for writers from marginalised groups to thrive on their own terms. As a queer writer, the obstacles to success have been many. It is a real privilege to be part of a prize that works to remove some of those barriers, and I can’t wait to read the submissions”
— Lara Haworth, Writers' Prize Judge

What the Prize Offers

The Book Edit Writers' Prize is more than just a competition. It's a launchpad for emerging talent, offering:

  1. Industry Exposure: Eight winners will have the opportunity to showcase their work to top industry professionals.

  2. Publication Opportunity: A chance to be featured in our anthology, putting your work in front of a wider audience.

  3. Expert Feedback: Personalised feedback from Lauren Wolff-Jones, Commissioning Editor at Legend Press.

  4. Networking: Connect with fellow writers and industry insiders.

“Winning the Writers’ Prize was a real boost to my self-belief as a writer...With the renewed confidence that I gained after winning the prize, I applied for other competitions and was long listed, shortlisted and selected as a winner in some of them. Just go for it. You never know what might happen.”
— Rosalind Yarde, 2023 Winner

Key Dates

  • Submissions Open: September 1, 2024

  • Submission Deadline: October 15, 2024

  • Rehearsal for winning writers: 13th November 2024

  • Online showcase event: 20th November 2024

  • Anthology of winners’ readings published on The Book Edit website:

    27th November 2024

How to Apply

For full details on submission guidelines and to apply, please visit our website.

“Winning the Book Edit Writers’ Prize winner was a real affirmation that Tapha (now At the Pine House) was interesting to others and might be able to make it as a book and not just my own project...the Prize opens something that continues; it isn’t just a one-off event. It’s easy with writing (for me at least) to sit on a project for years on end and not propel it out into the world, and the Book Edit Writers’ Prize has been important in invigorating me to believe in the possible wider resonance of my work. So I’m very thankful and will definitely be following this year’s Prize.”
— Emily Abdeni-Holman, 2023 Winner

Katharine Light’s Path to Publication

When I was a young girl, my dad used to make me little books of paper and I would love to write in them. In my teens these became stories I wrote for my younger sister about a girl who falls in love with the bass player of a pop group. Absolutely not based on John Taylor from Duran Duran.

Author Katharine Light, photo by Alexandra Vanotti

Later on I tried my hand at writing a Mills & Boons. At around 50,000 words it was great practice, but not quite the right genre. When my children were small, I did a year long creative writing course with the Open University. Two years later I did the advanced version. Then, working full-time and a busy family life meant I kept writing only sporadically until 2018 when I started The Novel Studio at City, University of London. It was a brilliant year with excellent tutors in Emma Claire Sweeney, Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone and Kirstan Hawkins. Fourteen of us completed the course, meeting twice a week and sharing our lives through writing. They are a very supportive and talented bunch.

At the end of the year, I had interest from three agents, and signed with one at A M Heath. This is it, I (naively) thought, on my way to publication… Sadly, during lockdown, having worked on this first novel, Like Me, (the agent’s suggestions definitely improved it), she said she wasn’t the right person to take it forward. This was followed by a dispiriting lack of response from several agents she recommended, as well as the two who had previously shown interest.

Throughout the pandemic, the Novel Studio cohort kept in touch, via a WhatsApp group. Before covid, about half of us carried on meeting in person, and carried over onto Zoom. Fellow alumnus Laurence Kershook published The Broygus in March 2022, and fellow alumna Lara Haworth’s book Monumenta will be published by Canongate in 2024.

On publication, I bought Laurence’s book in paperback and was very impressed. It’s a high quality, professionally produced book, as well as a terrific read, and I began to think maybe I could do that too. Independent publishing seeks to emulate the traditional publishing route, with a professional book edit from the wonderfully talented Emily Pedder, Founder of The Book Edit, and a great book cover from designer Simon Avery. Caroline Goldsmith of Goldsmith Publishing Consultancy ensured the manuscript was print and eBook ready, and Philippa Makepeace created the website. My advice is to surround yourself with people who know that they’re doing!

There was one major hiccough. The book has always been on the long side, and when it was first uploaded to www.kdp.amazon.com, although author royalties sounded generous, the print costs on the paperback version were so high, they were almost entirely swallowed up. After a drastic re-think, I cut fifty pages of the book, and added those onto the beginning of book two, which has now become two books. The manuscript for book two has just gone to the editor. The hope is to publish both that and book three in 2024.

There was a point at which I began to feel that the traditional publishing route was becoming less and less likely. Now I’m in my fifties, I developed a sense of urgency, fostered by reading Harry Bingham, founder of Jericho Writers, who is enthusiastic about indy publishing. It has been wonderful to hold the actual book in my hand. We held in person launches where I live in London, and in Altrincham, the fictional Millingham of the series. Lots of kind and lovely people came. As the book is about a group of teenage friends who meet up again twenty years later in their late thirties, the events have been the perfect excuse to reconnect with old friends from the past. As we said, life is now imitating art. We’re doing the fictional reunion for real, just many years later…

Katharine’s debut novel, Like Me

Katharine Light’s debut novel, Like Me, was published in autumn 2023. For more about Katharine visit her website.

And if you would like to find out more about how we could help with your book, have a look at our range of editing services here. Or drop us an email at info@thebookedit.co.uk.