Do you dream of being a novelist but lack the resources or motivation? Well, this groundbreaking writing contest may be just what you need!
Enter for a chance to win $100,000 and make your dream novel a reality. And the best part? All you need to do is write three pages.
“The Next Big Story” is designed to discover fresh new talent, including occasional readers who need encouragement to begin, individuals with limited time or means, and those who have been historically overlooked by the publishing industry.
Chosen by a panel of high-profile judges, the winner will receive $100,000 along with a year of support from The Novelry team to develop their idea for a novel into a fully realized book.
The Novelry is an online creative writing school with an in-house editorial team of former Big Five publishing editors linked to literary agencies. We had a chance to talk with The Novelry’s founder, Louise Dean, about The Next Big Story.
What kind of stories are you looking for with The Next Big Story?
We’re looking for fresh voices. Books with clear pitches, spare writing, where every sentence earns the next sentence. A book like Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer checks those boxes. I’d also love to see a tender, warm-hearted book with the wry humor of David Sedaris or Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five.
Can you tell us a bit about The Novelry? What is it, and why/how was it founded?
The Novelry is a top-rated online fiction-writing school that I founded in 2017. It began with me simply feeling the writing life was a bit lonely, and wanting to write my next novel alongside other writers. The Bookseller published an article that I was seeking other writers to write with me — live — and I had over 200 phone calls, so I had to organize us all, and that was the beginning of what would become The Novelry.
It soon dawned on me that the road to becoming a published author wasn’t being fully shared with aspiring authors, and it would be helpful to let them in on what that journey entailed, sooner rather than later. It would certainly help them get there faster! I decided to bring in the gatekeepers of publishing to our team. We were the first creative writing school with an in-house team of former publishing editors, which meant we could best share with writers what was really important — story. Stories are what readers want, not fine or fancy words, and stories are what publishers want, too.
We know this to be true because 75% of graduates who are introduced to literary agents through The Novelry have secured contracts with Big Five publishers, and film rights for alumni books have been acquired by major studios, including Sony and See-Saw Films. Published authors that have completed a course from The Novelry include Clare Leslie Hall, Broken Country (Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club Pick); Kelly Mullen, This Is Not a Game; Cathryn Kemp, A Poisoner’s Tale; and Nikki Allen, The Hideaway, among others. We really believe that anyone can write, and that writing can and should be a joy. I always say, it’s the most fun a person can have with their clothes on!
Along with a $100,000 prize, the winner will receive a year of support from The Novelry. What does that support look like?
It looks like courses, coaching and community! The grand winner chosen by our incredible judges — Tayari Jones, Emma Roberts, Julia Quinn, Carley Fortune, Zibby Owens, Zosia Mamet, Yann Martel, Brady Lockerby, Jackie Oshry and Kimmy Nwokorie — will win The Finished Novel Course. Together, we’ll help turn their winning idea into a publishing-ready book.
Why only the first 3 pages?
Because you only need three pages or less to make us care about what happens next. It’s how the business works, from literary agents to publishers to readers. If a story doesn’t grab you in the first three pages, you’re going to pass on it and head to the next book.
How did you go about selecting your panel of judges?
Our panel was carefully curated to spread the word of the Prize far beyond the usual borders. We wanted judges who were warm and positively engaged with a broad audience of readers. Our chair, the wonderful Tayari Jones, led a class for us that had a significant influence on the Prize. She said we don’t need to hear from the privileged people who can stay home and write in their pajamas; we need to hear from those who are struggling, the ones with day jobs and kids, who are holding it together.
Where did the idea for The Next Big Story come from?
Well, I’ve described this as my Willy-Wonka-for-writers moment, but it’s probably more of a Michael Caine moment. To blow the doors off publishing! To create real change.
So many people rule themselves out of being a writer, thinking they need to be some kind of genius, that the risk is too high, or the rewards too low. They never give themselves the chance to try their hand at it. We thought a radical new approach would change the scales and tip people into giving it a go. So we decided to offer a large prize for just three pages of the start of a novel. It’s all part of our mission to bring something like the energy of the music industry to publishing. We want to find some fresh new voices in fiction!
Is this contest open only to amateurs?
The contest is open to anyone over 18 years not represented by a literary agent in our eligible regions.
Will there be any sort of recognition for runners-up?
Yes! While only one winner will take home the grand prize of $100,000, all eight shortlisted entries will win The Finished Novel Course from The Novelry.
What is your policy about contestants using AI to write their pages?
AI tools are not permitted in the creation of writers’ entries or in generating their entries. An AI-generated text reads too polished, too generic, and flat. We want voices with wit and mischief. It’s the writer’s fresh voice we want.
Are there any restrictions on the type of story submitted?
Non-fiction, poetry, short stories, memoirs and scripts are excluded from the contest. We will only accept works of fiction that set up the opening to a long-form story — a novel — and allow us to get a sense of a big story.
Enter Now!
Aspiring authors can submit the first three pages of their potential novel online now through Thursday, July 31, at www.thenovelry.com. Full competition details and guidelines are available at www.thenovelry.com/prize.
