We are delighted to announce that the Exeter Novel Prize has a new home with Word Kitchen. The competition is open from JULY 1ST ‘25 to January 1st, 2026.

This prestigious prize welcomes entries in English from all over the world, and is open to all authors who are without representation by a literary agent at the closing date, whether or not they have previously been published. 

​​ Hellie Ogden, head of the book dept at WME Agency's London office, will choose the short list and winner for the competition.

First prize - £1000 
​Five finalists receive £100

By submitting the first 10,000 words of your novel, along with a synopsis, you are in with a chance of not only winning a prestigious prize, but also - by daring to put your work out there in the world - getting your name and work noticed.

What are you waiting for?

Read the rules below carefully, then send us is those first ten thousand words, including a brief synopsis, of a novel that has not been accepted for publication by a traditional publishing house. 

The fee for entry is £20, and for entry plus an appraisal report it is £150.

Our Exeter Novel Prize Ambassadors

Who won last year?

The 2024 Winner was - Last Castle Standing by Nida Broughton

other shortlisted novels were:
​A View of the Open Sky – Elisa Oh
​Bahadur is my Name – Loftus Brown
​The Alchemy of Light – Lenore Hart
​The King's Wife – Lauren Neely
The Revenge of Hepsibah Brown – Beth Webb​

For more information on the 2024 competition and previous winners over the years,

please visit creative writing matters

Exeter Novel Prize entry fee - £20

Entry fee including appraisal - £150

Why get an appraisal?

For an extra fee, you will receive a detailed appraisal of your submission. Your report will be written by an experienced writer/reader (no A.I. here!) offering you clear feedback and actionable suggestions.

These reports have proved very popular in the past: here are some of the responses from previous years:

• Thank you so much for this report, incredibly motivating, helpful and insightful, I’m already actioning the suggestions - Laura Bellingham

• Many thanks to your team and especially to Margaret James for her thoughtful—and very helpful—response to my entry. Among the several contests I’ve entered, and the several queries I’ve already sent out, I haven’t yet received a response as thorough and intelligent as hers - Gregory Bayer

• Many thanks for your constructive feedback. This was my first children's novel, and I am so pleased to read what worked and how to improve it - Margaret Magee

How to Enter the

2025 Exeter Novel Prize

the competition runs between JULY 1st 2025 and January 1st 2026

The Rules

Please read all the rules before you proceed: we don't want to disqualify anyone!

1.    The 2025 Exeter Novel Prize is open for submissions from July 1st until 11.59pm on January 1st 2026, which is without exception the closing date. Any entries received after this date will be disqualified and no refund of the entry fee will be made.

2.    The competition is open to everyone, living anywhere in the world, published, self-published or yet to be published, who is not represented by a literary agent. All those long-listed will be asked if they are still eligible to go forward.

3.  Entries should take the form of the opening of your novel (not a random selection of scenes) and must not exceed a total of ten thousand words, which includes a synopsis of not more than five hundred words. Any entries received without a synopsis will be disqualified. Entries must be the author’s own work. The novel does not have to be complete. Self-published novels are acceptable.

4.   You may enter more than one novel, but each entry must be emailed separately and must be accompanied by a separate entry fee. 

5.   All genres including children’s of Middle Grade (9-12), Young Adult and New Adult are acceptable. 

6.   Your name should not appear anywhere on the attachment. The attachment should have the same name as the title of your novel as it appears in the subject line of your email (minus ENP - see How to Enter below).  

Only doc, docx, rtf and pdf files will be accepted. Any other formats will be disqualified. Please present your work in 12pt Times New Roman or Arial, 1.5 or double-spaced. ​

7.    Entries must be in English.

8.    Entrants must be over 18 years of age.

9.    Entry must be made electronically and the fee paid via Paypal. The prize monies will be awarded via Paypal. The receipt issued by Paypal on payment of the entry fee is your receipt of entry. All Paypal receipts are matched with submissions and if we receive one without the other we will contact you. See How to Enter below. If you do not already have a Paypal account, please visit www.paypal.com for details.
10. Literary agent, Hellie Ogden from WME Agency will be the final judge. Although the organisers hope the winning entrant will achieve publication, no guarantee of agent representation or publication can be given.
11.   The decision of the judges is final. No correspondence will be entered into. ​

 Ready To Enter?

• in the subject line of your email, type ENP followed by the title of your novel.

• in the body of the email type your name, contact details (postal address and mobile and/or landline number) and the title of your novel. If payment is made using a different name, it is essential you include that name in the email you send with the novel.

• attach your novel and synopsis (as one document) in one of the formats set out in Rule Your name and contact details must not appear anywhere on the attachment. Email to exeternovelprize@gmail.com

• Make your payment - basic entry is £20; to enter and receive an appraisal report (no A.I. involved!) go for the second option which includes the entry fee and costs £150. Click on the appropriate button, then go up to the cart icon back up at the top of this page and click there to make your payment.

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