Posted by Maleeha Mir on 15 May 2023, in News
Byte The Book is pleased to announce that for the second year running Hachette UK will sponsor two bursaries for unpublished writers worth over £600 each, to include an annual membership to Byte The Book, as well as the following debut author support package:
- Two one-hour one-to-one mentoring session, including review and feedback on an Agent Tables submission
- One member ticket for Agent Tables
Applications are invited from as-yet unpublished writers on a low-income or from under-represented groups (short stories and other online publications are allowed, but the author must not have published a book-length project). Please submit:
- The first chapter of your novel or non-fiction project (up to 5,000 words)
- A synopsis of the complete project (up to 600 words)
- Your biography (up to 250 words)
Byte The Book will select two recipients for the Hachette UK-sponsored bursaries based on the strength of their writing and project. Please send your application to info@bytethebook.com with the heading “Hachette UK-sponsored Bursaries for Debut Authors” by 5pm on 23rd June 2023.
The winners of 2023 Bursary will be announced at our event, Opening the Book: Behind the Scenes at a Publishing House on 11th July at Hachette’s head offices on Embankment London. Our attendees will have the opportunity to learn from our panel (topic and speakers TBC), ask questions and network before and after the discussion.
Quotes from last year’s recipients:
Angelita Lapuz Bradney's novel, Wildwood, is a British-Filipino family drama entwined with ghosts and folklore. Since winning the bursary, Angelita has gained representation with Catherine Cho at Paper Literary. She says, 'The Byte the Book/Hachette bursary gave me the boost I needed to finish the next draft of Wildwood. The support of a writing community and initiatives such as Byte the Book's Agent Tables have been invaluable in helping me identify the unique selling point of my story and prepare a strong submission to agents.'
Viktoria Dahill says, 'Winning the Byte the Book Bursary has been a huge boost to my confidence. I've since revised my novel, and placed in several competitions, including a longlisting in The Book Edit Writers' Prize and a shortlisting in the Creative Future Awards. Justine's advice has proved to be both useful and encouraging, and I'm looking forward to my next steps in my writing journey.'
The Debut Author Support Package from Byte The Book also is available for purchase. Byte the Book is a network set up to help authors publish. We’re focused on helping our members make connections and navigate the contemporary publishing world. Founded in 2012, we have 450 members and around 5000 subscribers. We run events across the world live and online. You can see a list of our upcoming events here
