First Chapter Competition
Send the opening chapter of your novel to win feedback from top publishing industry professionals.
2026 Judge
Louise Buckley has worked in publishing for fifteen years. She was inspired to enter the publishing industry after completing an MA in Creative Writing and then spent a hugely enjoyable year working as a bookseller for Waterstones, wishing that she could have a hand in publishing books.
After a year working at Dorling Kindersley, she then spent almost five years working in the commercial fiction division at Pan Macmillan, where she published a mix of commercial bestsellers and award-winning authors.
Most recently, she was an Associate Literary Agent at Zeno Agency Ltd. As an agent she represented a roster of commercial and literary fiction, and select non-fiction, including Anne Griffinâs When All is Said, which spent five weeks at number one in Ireland and sold into 17 territories.
Prizes
First Prize
Submission package review and feedback from Louise Buckley in a Zoom meeting. Louise will provide detailed guidance on your cover letter, synopsis, and first three chaptersâessential elements of any submission to agents and publishers.
Second Prize
Feedback on your first three chapters from Amanda Saint, author, publisher, creative writing teacher and founder of WestWord and The Mindful Writer.
Third Prize
3 months membership of WestWord.
Shortlisted Entries
All shortlisted writers will receive short feedback from Louise Buckley on the first chapter submitted during the judging process. This feedback will be provided in the blog post announcing the competition results.
Entry Details
Deadline: 28th February 2026
Max word count: 3500
Entry Fee:
Standard entry: ÂŁ15
Entry with detailed feedback on your first chapter: ÂŁ75
Eligibility and T&Cs
Please note: This competition is for YA and adult fiction novels only. We do not accept submissions of childrenâs novels.
Submit stories written in English through Submittable using the button above by 23.59 GMT on the deadline date (sorry late entries will not be included). Please use a clear font of at least size 12 so that we can read it easily!
Please use the name of your story as your Submission title and the document you upload.
Do not include your name on the story document or submission title but provide a short bio as requested in the submission form. All stories are read anonymously so any showing the authorâs name will be disqualified.
Please include the word count at the start or end of the story document.
Stories must be your own original work and not have been published online or in print, or have won any other competitions (longlisted and shortlisted in other competitions is fine if the story remains unpublished).
Simultaneous submissions are allowed but if your story wins a prize or is published prior to the winnerâs announcement your entry will become ineligible. No refunds of entry fees will be paid.
By entering the competition you agree to your story being published in the winnersâ online anthology.
Stories can be in any genre apart from childrenâs fiction.
You can enter as many times as you like but all entries must be made separately and the entry fee paid each time.
The judgeâs decision is final.
There are no alternative prizes.