A new competition to find the novelists and writers of tomorrow has been launched as part Farnham’s Literary Festival. The Farnham Fiction Award will accept entries of up to 3,000 words from adult writers between now and 5 January. The competition, co-ordinated by Neil MacDonald who leads the Fellowship of the Pen writing group, offers a top prize of £100 for the winner and smaller prizes for category winners.  

Councillor Pat Evans, Lead Member for Tourism and Leisure at Farnham Town Council says: “We want to inspire the next generation of writers and celebrate the talents of people who simply enjoy creative writing as a hobby. If you have always felt you had a book in you, get writing and enter the Farnham Fiction Award – you could be just 3,000 words away from winning!”  

There are four award categories – romance, thriller, science fiction and fantasy – with cash prizes of £25 for each as well as the £100 prize for the overall winner. There is a £10 entrance fee and the Town Council has announced bursaries are available to support anyone unable to afford it.  

The competition is part of the upcoming Farnham Literary Festival which will take place in March 2022. Councillor Evans explains: “I’ve no doubt that we could find the next JK Rowling, Ian McEwan or Zadie Smith and the Farnham Fiction Award could be just the platform they need to start them on their way to success. The award is just one element of the brand new literary festival taking place next year. Winners will be announced at the close of the festival, in mid-March.” 

The deadline for entries is midnight on 5 January 2022 so would-be novelists are encouraged to start planning their short stories as soon as possible. 

Full details of competition criteria and how to enter are on the festival’s website, www.farnhamliteraryfestival.co.uk. Competition entrants will be invited to attend the awards ceremony at a local venue with the opportunity to hear excerpts from the winning stories.