Five tips for applying for a New Writers Award

If you’re planning to apply for a New Writers Awards this year and wondering what you can do to give your application the best possible chance, here are some top tips to help you get prepped.

1. Be sure to follow the guidelines

While the reason behind various guidelines may not be clear at first glance, there’s a good reason for all of them. These range from making sure the reading lists are manageable for the judges to ensuring our admin processes run as smoothly as possible. You’ll be able to find all the information you need on the category guidelines page and on the application form itself. Following the guidelines means your writing can truly shine without any distractions.

It’s also a good idea to have a close look at the eligibility criteria before you put a lot of work into your application! Please contact [email protected](this link will open in a new window) for support with your application or any questions on eligibility.

2. Don’t be shy in your statement

Our judges want to hear about you and your writing and there’s space for you to share what writing means to you and why a place on the programme would make a difference. Ask yourself how the award will have an impact on your writing life and refer to specific areas of the programme if you can.

It might be that the bursary will buy you the precious time to write that you crave, that you feel like mentoring could help you make that all-important breakthrough or that a writing retreat could offer a valuable new perspective. Feel free to tell us when you started writing, what makes you want to write or how important writing is to you – we want to hear your story.

3. Make use of the synopsis option

While a synopsis is optional, it can be a really valuable way to give the panel an idea of the kind of project you’d like to work on. We know that writing a synopsis can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Don’t worry too much about convention – instead, think of it as a way to describe your novel or your collection to someone you don’t have much time with.

The important thing is to give a flavour of your themes and objectives while being confident that your writing sample is the place to show your craft. Keep in mind that the panel will also be aware that a synopsis is likely to change as your project progresses.

4. Take your time choosing your sample

You only have space to share a small sample of your work so be sure you’re happy with the one you choose. It can be a good idea to put the piece you’ve chosen to one side for a few days and then come back to it fresh, to see if you still think it’s your strongest work. If you’re choosing several different pieces, then you might want to think about whether they offer a good overview of your body of work and your interests.

Your sample should make sense as a standalone piece (you can use the synopsis to give a bit more context) and if you’re submitting from a novel, we recommend submitting the opening chapters to help the panel immerse themselves in your work as easily as possible.

5. Be sure to check over your submission

This is true for your writing sample and for your accompanying information too. On a second or third read through, you might find you weren’t as clear as you meant to be or that maybe some of your limited word count would be better spent expanding on different topics.

A typo isn’t going to make or break the quality of your application, but the clearer and more confident your application is, the better. If you can, ask a friend to look over your application before you submit it – an outside perspective can be hugely invaluable after you’ve worked intensely on something for a while!

New Writers Awards applications are open until 31 July 2024 at noon.