Founded in the UNESCO city of Bath, England in 2013, the Bath Novel Awards are open to writers of any age and every nationality and residency.

The prize is awarded annually to unagented writers who are unpublished, self-published or independently published.

£5,000 first prize, full manuscript feedback for all shortlistees and extract feedback for all listees. There is an additional longlist prize of a place on a Professional Writing Academy / Cornerstones Literary Consultancy course worth £1,800.

Recipients include: Abi Daré for the manuscript of international bestseller The Girl with the Louding Voice; new James Bond author Kim Sherwood for the manuscript of Testament and Branford Boase winning children’s author Struan Murray for the manuscript of Orphans of the Tide.

OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS

• The BATH NOVEL AWARD 2024 £5,000 international prize for adult and YA manuscripts in every genre.
• The BATH CHILDREN’S NOVEL AWARD 2024 £5,000 international prize for children’s & YA manuscripts.

We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives.