The Next Big Story Prize

The Novelry’s mission is to bring new voices to the world of fiction, nurture raw creative talent, and discover powerful page-turning stories, so they’ve teamed up with a stellar cast of book-loving celebrity judges with a combined following of 25 million readers to get the word out, including Emma Roberts, Tayari Jones, Julia Quinn, Yann Martel, and Zibby Owens.

One grand winner will scoop the $100,000 prize and, along with 7 runners-up, will bag The Finished Novel Course at  to create, write, and edit their novel with an all-star cast of writing coaches and former Big Five publishing editors.

Shortlist announced and public voting opens September 28, 2025. The winner is announced October 12, 2025.

Is this competition legit?YES! – Based on our research this event is legitimate and the organizer is well established. However, as with any event, please remember to do your own research before submitting your work.

FAQ
If you are curious how writing competitions work, or it’s your first time entering one, we recommend reading our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page first.

ProWritingAid
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. Visit their website and try ProWritingAid for free.