The competition is open to women of any nationality from any country, aged 18 and over. We are looking for entries of completed, unpublished novels for adults or YA readers, of at least 45,000 words in length.
Final closing date: October 31st
Each entry fee allows you to submit one novel manuscript. You can enter more than one novel, but an entry fee is payable for each novel submitted.
Longlisted writers will be contacted in January of the following year. A shortlist will be announced a month or so later.
The Entry Fee:
Early bird £15 by June 1st / Standard entry £20 by August 1st / £25 Late entry by October 31st
The Prize:
Finalists will receive editorial guidance and a conditional publishing deal from Aurora Metro Books with the offer of an advance and royalty.
Please ensure you’ve read the rules and FAQs before entering.
For any further information, call us on 02089481427 or email vp@aurorametro.com
ELIGIBILITY
- Entries can be made by women of any nationality from any country who are aged 18 and over.
- Entries should be in English (or English dialect) and should not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere.
- If more than 50% of a novel has been published elsewhere, the novel is not eligible. Self-published novels are not eligible.
- Please notify us if entries are under consideration in other fiction competitions at the time of submission.
- Entries should not be a translation of another author’s work.
- You have to identify as a woman to enter the competition.
- Your entry fee can be paid online or if required, by bank transfer.
- You can withdraw your entry at any time until the longlist is announced, but the entry fee will not be refunded.
HOW TO ENTER
- You may enter online at www.aurorametro.com/VirginiaPrize. By entering the competition, you agree to join the Aurora Metro mailing list.
- You may enter as many novels as you like to the competition, but each submission incurs a separate fee.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- All entries must be received by 23:59 GMT on October 31st 2021. The organizer accepts no responsibility for any entries that are incomplete, illegible, corrupted or fail to reach the organizer by the relevant closing date for any reason.
- Do include the TITLE but do not include your name or contact details on the entry as these are registered in the online process.
- Once submitted, no alterations may be made to your entry.
- Your entry will not be returned, so please keep a copy.
- Results are published on the Aurora Metro Books website.
- We will contact only the longlisted authors who will be announced in January or February of the following year.
- Finalists will be invited to a special event.
- Novels accepted for publication may be published in the following year or later, depending on the publisher’s schedule.
- The copyright of any entry remains with the author.
- The publisher Aurora Metro Books has the right to publish the entries by authors selected as finalists subject to negotiation of the contract.
- There is no cash prize but subject to negotiation an advance on royalties of an amount in line with traditional publishing contracts will be paid to published authors.
- Aurora Metro Books also has the unrestricted right to include author name and title of entry for publicity and marketing purposes related to the competition.
- In the event of unforeseen circumstances, the organizer reserves the right in exceptional circumstances to amend or foreclose the competition without notice.
FAQS
What file format can I send?
Permitted file types are: .doc, docx, pdf
For large files over 20Mb, send via a file transfer service such as We Transfer to vp@aurorametro.com.
Do I have to send my novel extract(s) as single attachments?
Yes, please.
Where do I need to send my entry form?
Please email us your entry forms at vp@aurorametro.com .
What do I do if I’m unsure that my entry went through?
If you think something has gone wrong with the upload or your email hasn’t reached us, please just email us at vp@aurorametro.com and we’ll check for you.
I want to enter more than one novel, what do I do?
You can enter each novel separately. Once your order has completed, you can submit another entry. You will receive an order confirmation for each entry.
Can I submit by post?
In special circumstances such as technology failure, we will accept a submission by post. Email us at vp@aurorametro.com to get permission and our postal address.