The Newbie Novelist
Emerging Writer Scholarship
The Newbie Novelist Emerging Writer Scholarship is awarded to an unpublished or emerging fiction writer whose work demonstrates a distinctive voice, literary promise and the potential for further development.
The scholarship is intended for writers at an early stage of their novel-writing and provides professional editorial assessment and guidance on the development and publication of their work.
The recipient will receive a detailed written assessment of their opening chapters or manuscript, followed by a 90-minute online consultation.
The assessment will consider the writing's strengths, areas for development, genre, voice, characterisation, PoV, and narrative structure. The consultation will provide an opportunity to discuss the assessment in detail and consider appropriate next steps, including further drafting and revision, preparing a manuscript for submission, and approaching literary agents and publishers.
The purpose of the scholarship is to provide a promising emerging writer with careful editorial assessment and a clearer understanding of the next step in the development of their work.
Deadline
Applications are now open. The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2026.
What to Submit
Up to three opening chapters, with a maximum submission length of 8,000 words.
Your submission should be from a work of fiction.
Your novel may be at any stage of development, but please submit the opening only. We do not accept chapters taken from later in the manuscript.
Please note that any writing that has been generated or substantially edited by AI will be disqualified.
Formatting
Please submit your work in the following format:
12-point Times New Roman
1.5 line spacing
Page numbers
PDF or Word document
What We're Looking For
We are looking for literary potential and a distinctive ‘voice’.
How to Apply
Please email your application to contact@newbienovelist.com
Subject line: Your legal name [Surname, Name]: Title of Novel
Email body: Please include a brief summary of your intended novel, of no more than 200 words. Nothing else is required. There is no need for a salutation, sign-off or any other correspondence.
Attachment: Please attach the opening of your novel, in accordance with the submission requirements above.
Please do not include a CV or résumé. The scholarship is open to writers of all ages, identities and nationalities, and selection is based on the quality and potential of the writing rather than on previous qualifications, professional experience or publication history.