the Skylark Soaring Stories Competition 2023
FINAL RESULTS!
We are delighted to announce that the Skylark Soaring Stories Competition 2023 is now complete. We received a huge number of entries and the standard was extremely high!
To everyone who entered - THANK YOU - it was a joy to read your entries and narrowing them down to create a shortlist and then a final top 3 was exceedingly difficult.
However, the results are in and we are proud to announce that the overall winner of the Skylark Soaring Stories Competition for 2023 is…
Jo Howard with Legal Walls
Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Jo for being our winner, and delivering such a distinctive and engaging competition entry. Here are a few of the judges’ comments …
This accessible and appealing contemporary teen novel feels really original, with an urban setting, convincing characterisation and a snappy narrative style that readers will love.
It’s rare to find a ya voice that feels so authentic but this really sang out.
A phenomenal voice that felt really convincing, coupled with a concept that felt fresh and unique!
The two runners-up are…
David McGuire with The Jetsam
Judges’ comments …
I loved the sparky writing, the plucky protagonist and the immediately immersive world.
I immediately loved the tone of this, it felt warm and adventurous and I wanted to know more about Soap and what was going on in Port Meriadoc; great to see a disabled character taking a lead role too.
Amelia Etherton with All the Words for Stupid
Judges’ comments …
The voice in this entry captivated me from the very start. The author drew the characters and their complex family dynamics beautifully with a warm, yet sparing, touch.
This moving YA contemporary novel impactfully portrays a teenage boy coping with huge challenges in his family life, with naturalistic dialogue and very well drawn relationships.
It only remains for us to say thank you again to everyone who entered the competition, with a special shout out to those shortlisted authors who didn’t quite make it into the top 3. All the judges were impressed with the high standard of the entries, and all our shortlistees offered something particularly special so you can rightly feel proud!
A final enormous THANK YOU to our three guest judges, Emma Jones of Macmillan, Sarah Stewart of Usborne and Alex Antscherl of Bloomsbury. Your enthusiasm and expertise have made this competition a joy! We thank you for supporting us so generously.
Thank you, everyone, for taking part!
Skylark Soaring Stories Competition 2023
Christmas is approaching, and a special part of the holiday season is sharing stories - so what better time to bring back the Skylark Soaring Stories Competition?
As usual, we’ve enlisted the help of top editors from some of the biggest and best UK publishers to help find our winners (more details below).
We always aim to seek and support the best writing for young people, and this competition is specifically for new stories aimed at either middle-grade (ages 8-12) or YA (ages 13+) readers. If you are an un-agented, unpublished writer, working on a jewel of a manuscript for either of these age groups, now is your chance to shine!
We know it can be daunting to send your work to an agency and then wait to hear what they think, but please be brave! Our competition is designed for new writers who are just finding their way. We’re looking for real, raw talent - so if you’re a writer from an under-represented group and publishing feels like a strange and baffling beast, or if you’re just shy about sending your manuscript out into the big, wide world then why not start here? It’s a golden opportunity to get your work in front of top-notch industry professionals, and we’ll read with kindness, we promise!
The Judges
We are delighted to have leading experts from the UK children's publishing industry as guest judges to help us pick a winner. They are . . .
Emma Jones, Publishing Director, Macmillan Children’s Books
Alex Antscherl, Editorial Director, Fiction, Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Sarah Stewart, Associate Editorial Director, Usborne Fiction
These three champions of great new writing for children will form the judging panel, together with Joanna and Amber of Skylark Literary.
The Prize
The prize will be a one-hour one-to-one editorial critique of your finished manuscript, by phone or over Zoom, with Joanna or Amber. We will suggest ways in which you could polish and perfect your novel to improve its chances of representation and publication, and seek to answer any queries you may have about the children's publishing industry in general.
This year we are also offering second- and third-place prizes of a half-hour one-to-one on your submitted chapters and synopsis - so there are more chances than ever to get feedback on your work!
The Deadline
The deadline for competition entries is Christmas Eve, December 24th 2023. So please put some magic and sparkle into our Christmas and send your work our way. CLICK HERE for how to enter, together with the full terms and conditions. See here for our privacy policy.