Back in 2013, I pitched the book I was writing in a Twitter pitch contest, and it changed my whole life. The book wasn’t done, but my friends egged me on. Go ahead and enter! What could it hurt? You might get some likes! Well, I did get some likes, which meant I had agents requesting to read the book that wasn’t finished yet. I had a draft, but I was still in the middle of revising according to my critique partners’ notes. So, I did what any reasonable writer would do and stayed up all night revising my book so I could send the manuscripts to the requesting agents. Was it ludicrous to enter the contest early? Yes. Am I glad I went for it? Absolutely. Now it’s YOUR turn!
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The Novelry is excited to announce The Next Big Story prize. Everyone’s invited! All you need is the idea for a story and the first 3 pages of what could be a novel. Find out more and enter at the website!
One grand winner will scoop the $100,000 prize and, along with 7 runners-up, will receive The Finished Novel Course to create, write, and edit their novel with our all-star cast of writing coaches and former Big Five editors for submission to our partner literary agencies.
The judging panel includes movers and shakers from the book world, including Emma Roberts, Tayari Jones, Zibby Owens, Julia Quinn, Zosia Mamet, Brady Lockerby, Yann Martel, Carley Fortune, Jackie Oshry, and Kimmy Nwokorie. They’ll be looking for the next big story. Could it be yours?
One big idea. Three pages. A chance to change your life.
Visit thenovelry.com/prize for details. Contest closes July 31, 2025. Over 18s only. Terms and Conditions apply.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Open to entrants 18 years or older where permitted by law. Begins May 1, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. ET and ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET. One (1) Grand Prize available: US$100,000. Eight (8) Short List Prizes available: The Finished Novel Course (ARV: US$4,995). Subject to Official Rules located at www.thenovelry.com/prize. Sponsor: The Novelry Group Limited, 6th Floor Charlotte Building, 17 Gresse Street, London, United Kingdom, W1T 1QL. Administrator: The Novelry USA, Inc., 447 Broadway, New York, NY 10013.
When I entered that pitch contest in 2013, I really didn’t know what I was doing. Counting Thyme was the third book I’d written, and I knew I was onto something with the story, which depicted an eleven-year-old girl who has to give up her whole life to relocate to New York City for her little brother’s cancer treatment. I knew writing was for me. I loved figuring out the stories, but I didn’t know HOW to revise, so even after that pitch contest spurred me to getting agented (with a cold query!) I struggled to move forward on my journey to publication. Here’s what happened:
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