Submissions open for McKitterick Prize (UK)

Prize Information

• The prize money is £4,000 for the winner and £2,000 for the runner-up, with each shortlisted author receiving £1,000 (up to four authors).

Eligibility Criteria

• The author must be living and over the age of 40 on the 31 October 2024.
• The author must not have had any other novel published (excluding works for children).

Ineligibility Criteria

• Present employees (or anyone currently connected with the administration of the Society of Authors’ grants and prizes) or members of the SoA Management Committee may not apply for any of the grants and prizes administered by the Society of Authors.

Judging Criteria

• Judges may call in books if they so wish. The decision of the judges (both as to eligibility and the winning entry) shall be final and they reserve the right not to award the McKitterick Prize if, in their opinion, no works entered reach a sufficiently high standard. The publishers of winning books will assist The Society of Authors in the publicity and promotion of the McKitterick Prize.

Application Requirements

• The novel must be a full length work in the English language by one author (not a translation, and not a work for children).
• The work must be a work of ‘fiction or imagination or substantially of fiction or imagination’.
• The author must not have had any novel published other than the one submitted, including self-published works.
• Publishers are invited to submit a maximum of one additional call-in title.
• All submissions must have been written by the author and cannot contain the use of AI generated works.
• For publishers: maximum two entries per imprint.
• For published and self-published entries: Once the form is completed please send five copies (non-returnable) of the published book or publisher’s proof (bound or unbound)
• For unpublished entries: Upload to the form one copy of the manuscript formatted in line with the following style guide. Only one manuscript may be submitted per applicant:
  • A4 paper size
  • 12 point font size
  • Title of manuscript should appear on the first page, along with the author’s name.
  • Please use page numbers
  • Maximum of 30 pages (including any title or contents pages used). Longlisted authors will be asked to provide the full manuscript for the judges consideration
  • Submitted in .doc/.docx/.pdf format
  • File name should include the book title.

For more information, visit The Society of Authors.