Submissions open for Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize

They very much see migration as an ongoing human condition and the history of humanity as a history of migration.

The prize is developed in association with the Southbank Centre, and supported by John Ellerman Foundation, Doughty Street Chambers; Spread the Word, Dartington Estate and the Bookseller.

Benefits

• The winner will be offered:
  • a cash prize of £10,000 which will be paid out in two equal instalments: the first instalment upon acceptance of the prize and once a publication agreement has been signed with Footnote Press; and, the second instalment will be payable on acceptance by Footnote Press of the final, completed manuscript of the book;
  • a publishing contract with Footnote Press with a £5,000 advance (to be earned from royalties on future sales of the book), which will be payable on first print publication by Footnote Press of the book;
  • editorial feedback from Footnote Press;
  • a paid-for 7 days/6 nights writing residency to Dartington Estate in Totnes, which includes food, accommodation and travel costs, subject to availability and subject to additional separate terms and conditions which must be redeemed by December 2024.
  • Footnote will also be working with London’s literature development agency Spread the Word to host an e-workshop on developing a career as a writer and 1–2–1 meetings to provide ongoing support with the winning writers, as well as access to their programme of workshops and events.
• Shortlisted writers will also be invited to a live event in February 2024 at the Southbank Centre, London to read from and discuss their entry for the Prize for which all reasonable expenses will be covered where agreed in advance by Footnote Press and Counterpoints Arts. By submitting their entry for the Prize, entrants are committing to participating in this event if they are invited to do so.

Eligibility Criteria

• Anyone from a refugee or migrant background is eligible to submit an entry for the prize if they are a resident of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland whether they have previously been published or not.
• Unfortunately due to legal constraints, they can only consider proposals from writers with settled status/leave to remain in the UK.
• There is no age restriction on who can submit an entry for the Prize but if you are aged 18 or under then those with responsibility for you must also confirm their agreement to your entry.
• They welcome both agented and unagented submissions.
• They welcome eclectic and expansive interpretations of displacement, identity and/or resistance. They are especially interested in work that sits at intersections, or across cultures, communities and borders, and which moves beyond the personal to touch upon some of the key social and political themes of the day.
• The submission itself (or any abridged or extended version of it) must not have been published before whether that was by a publisher or by the writer themselves or have been published by anyone else anywhere in the world including online on the Internet.

Rules and Conditions

• Proposals must be for books written originally in the English language.
• Proposals must be submitted directly by the person who has written them and that person must be a living person at the date the prize is awarded and at the date the winning book is published unless Footnote Press and Counterpoints Arts decide otherwise in their sole discretion.
• Each entrant may only submit one entry for the Prize.
• Entries for books written by more than one person will not be accepted.
• Proposals being currently considered by other publishers must be withdrawn from those publishers before being entered into the prize. Any proposals which at any time during the running of the prize are found to be in the process of being considered for publication by another publisher or which are subject to an offer by or are under contract to another publisher shall be immediately disqualified.
• The Prize cannot be awarded to anyone who does not enter into a contract with Footnote Press.
• It is a strict condition of entry to the Prize that all entrants grant Footnote Press the right of first refusal to publish their submissions for the Prize, and Footnote Press’ right of first refusal continues until the winner of the Prize is announced.
• If after entering into a contract with Footnote Press the winner of the prize wishes to withdraw from the contract, they will be required to repay all sums received by them before their withdrawal and no further sums will be paid to them and in such case they will be considered to have rejected the prize and all elements of it.

For more information, visit Footnote Press.