Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, is delighted to announce that its Fiction Prize for a first novel by a woman will be awarded on Thursday 31 May 2012. This prize is now in its second year, and we are inviting people to submit work to be considered for the prize, subject to the following terms and conditions:
GUIDELINES
1) The prize is for a novel by a woman over the age of 21 that marries literary merit with unputdownability.
2) The novel may be on any subject at all. We welcome submissions of literary fiction and genre fiction equally.
3) The novel must be unpublished, and must not have been accepted for future publication or self-published.
4) Each novel must have a title, even if this is only a working title, for ease of administrative processing.
5) Anyone who has previously published a full-length novel is not eligible to enter the competition. If you have previously self-published a novel, you may enter as long as your submission is a different novel from the one you have previously self-published.
6) Each entry must consist of: the first 30 pages of the novel and a synopsis of the remainder of the novel that may be up to 10 pages long. The form the synopsis takes is left to the discretion of the entrant - it might be a detailed breakdown of the remainder of the plot, or a few paragraphs that give a flavour/overview. The novel does not need to be complete in order to be entered for the competition. It is acceptable to enter novels-in-progress and/or the first 30 pages of a novel you would like to write, or intend to write. All pages should be numbered, and the manuscript and the synopsis should be numbered separately.
7) No current Lucy Cavendish College fellows, students or staff members, and no relatives thereof, may enter the competition.
8) The entrance fee is £10 per entry. Entrants may submit a maximum of 3 entries, but no more than 1 submission per entrant will be shortlisted.
9) The closing date for receipt of submissions is Friday 27 April 2012.
10) Entries must be submitted in an envelope clearly marked ‘Fiction Prize’ and must consist of:
* the first 30 pages of the novel, printed in black ink on white A4 paper, 1.5 line spacing. The entrant’s name must not appear on the manuscript.
* up to 10 pages of synopsis, printed in black ink on white A4 paper, 1.5 line spacing. The entrant’s name must not appear on the synopsis.
*a separate sheet of white A4 paper that contains the following details: entrant’s name, address, phone numbers, email address, date of birth, title(s) of novel(s) submitted.
* a cheque for the appropriate entry fee. For one submission, this would be £10. For 3, it would be £30. Cheques should be made payable to Lucy Cavendish College.
NO ENTRIES WILL BE RETURNED, SO PLEASE KEEP COPIES OF YOUR WORK!
The judges will be Daily Telegraph columnist Rowan Pelling and Dr Isobel Maddison, Director of Studies in English at Lucy Cavendish College. The judges’ decision will be final. The judges reserve the right not to award the prize if they think that none of the entries are of sufficient merit.
The Shortlist, the Prize-giving Dinner and the Prize The judges will draw up a shortlist of five submissions. Those five entrants, plus one guest per shortlisted entrant, will be invited to the prize-giving dinner at Lucy Cavendish College on the evening of Thursday 31 May 2012. Fiction editors, literary agents and journalists will also be present at the dinner, as will fellows and students of the college. The judges will talk about all five shortlisted entries before announcing the winner and awarding the prize. The winner of the prize will receive a cheque for £1000, an editorial report and advice about publication from the judges. All five shortlistees will have the chance to meet editors and agents at the dinner.
ABOUT LUCY CAVENDISH COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
Lucy Cavendish is a college of the University of Cambridge which is uniquely for women over 21. The college is a diverse intellectual community of fellows and graduate and undergraduate students working in all fields of science (including medicine and veterinary medicine), law, and a wide range of subjects in the arts and humanities. Our striking feature is the variety of our students: women from around the UK study alongside women from all over the world; those with top A-levels and excellent International Baccalaureate grades are joined by students with 'Access' and other qualifications. Recent graduates coming here for further study interact with undergraduates who have been police officers, dancers, bankers and journalists. Within Cambridge, Lucy Cavendish offers a new take on the tradition of academic excellence.
PLEASE SEND ENTRIES, BY FRIDAY 27 APRIL 2012, TO:
Fiction Prize, c/o President’s Secretary, Lucy Cavendish College, Lady Margaret Road, Cambridge CB3 0BU. Any entrant found to be in contravention of any of the guidelines contained in this document will be automatically disqualified. Please make sure to put the correct postage on your submission envelope. Lucy Cavendish College will not pay additional postage costs on submissions. This form may be photocopied and distributed.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For submissions: Fiction Prize, c/o President’s Secretary, Lucy Cavendish College, Lady Margaret Road, Cambridge CB3 0BU
Website: http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/
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