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Children's writing

The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2025

Information

Closing date: 
6 June 2025
Entry: 
Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize: a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000

Top prize in children's writing competition is a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000


Chicken House is 'thrilled to announce' the opening of its 2025 writing competition, ran in conjunction with The Times, and with a prize sponsored by TV production company Lime Pictures. The deadline for submissions is 2 June 2025.  Read more

Action! Prize

Information

Closing date: 
30 January 2025
Entry: 
Unagented writers resident in the UK, Ireland and US. No entry fee
Prize: 
Publishing contract for 3 authors, First Prize £12,000 advance, Second Prize £9,000 advance and Third Prize £6,000 advance.

Faber is launching the Action! Prize, in response to research from the National Literacy TrustUK-based organisation which has campaigned since 1993 to improve literacy standards across all age groups. Excellent research information and details of the many initiatives the charity is currently involved in. www.literacytrust.org.uk. It also has a useful page of news stories on UK literacy, which links to newsletter http://www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx that reveals children's reading enjoyment is at its lowest level in almost two decades, and that the problem is most acute for boys.  Read more

The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2024

Information

Closing date: 
1 June 2024
Entry: 
Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize: a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Lydia Silver of Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency.

The Times/Chicken House Prize  Read more

2023 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition

Information

Closing date: 
1 June 2023
Entry: 
Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize: a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Davinia Andrew-Lynch of Andlyn

Chicken House 'is thrilled to announce' the opening of its 2022 writing competition, in conjunction with The Times, and with a new prize sponsored by TV production company Lime Pictures. The deadline for submissions is 1 June 2023.  Read more

The Oxford Pushkin Children's Fantasy Prize

Information

Closing date: 
31 May 2023
Entry: 
All fantasy novelists at the beginning of their career
Prize: 
£2000, and the opportunity for mentorship with an editor at Pushkin Children's Books

The Oxford Pushkin Children's Fantasy Prize is a new prize.

The Oxford Centre for Fantasy is collaborating with Pushkin Children's Books, an imprint of award-winning London-based publisher Pushkin Press, who aim to bring the world's greatest stories to young readers, with a list full of tales to enchant, inspire and open up new horizons.  Read more

The Selfies Book Awards UK 2023

Information

Closing date: 
3 January 2023
Entry: 
Authors who have self-published adult fiction, children’s books or adult memoirs/autobiography in the UK between January and December 2022. Entry fee: £35 per title to include a six-month subscription to Bookbrunch
Prize: 
£750 cash prize for each category plus other prizes

For the fifth year running the hugely popular Selfies Book Awards - powered by UK trade journal BookBrunch and sponsored by Ingram Spark® - will again reward three self-published authors for their publishing excellence. Submissions are now open for indie authors who have published an adult autobiography/memoir, adult fiction or children's book during 2022.
  Read more

2022 Times/Chicken House writing competition

Information

Closing date: 
1 June 2022
Entry: 
fee Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Louise Lamont at LBA Books, Second Prize a £7,500 publishing contract plus an offer of representation

Now the biggest children's writing competition in the UK, the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition has been running for 12 years and has kickstarted the careers of many of the most established writers for both children and adults in the UK - including Jasbinder Bilan (Costa-winning author of Asha & the Spirit Bird), SJ Bennett (The Windsor Knot) and Nicki Thornton (The Last Ch  Read more

The Selfies Book Awards UK 2022

Information

Closing date: 
3 January 2022
Entry: 
Authors who have self-published adult fiction, children’s books or adult memoirs/autobiography in the UK between January and December 2021. Entry fee: £30 per title to include a six-month subscription to Bookbrunch
Prize: 
£750 cash prize for each category plus other prizes

Now in its fourth year, the 'hugely popular' Selfies book awards - powered by UK trade journal BookBrunch - have opened and will again reward three categories of self-published books: adult autobiography/memoir, adult fiction and children's books.  Read more

Chicken House Open Coop

Information

Closing date: 
20 September 2021
Entry: 
Open to writers of children’s novels for 7 up including YA. No entry fee
Prize: 
Mentoring

24-hour open submissions period window will be open on 20 September only

The day is for finished or unfinished novels for children aged 7 up to (and including) YA, and offers the chance to gain mentorship from a member of the editorial team.  Read more

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2020

Information

Closing date: 
15 May 2021
Entry: 
Unpublished and unagented writers of children’s fiction suitable for children/young adults aged somewhere between 7 and 18 years. No entry fee
Prize: 
A worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000, plus an offer of representation from a top literary agent

Enter The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition  Read more

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12 May 2025 - What's new

May 2025
  • 'I did something which I haven't done before, which was really just play. I went into the British Library, looked at a whole load of books about subjects I was interested in, and just waited to see anything that jumped out at me.
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