NOVEL LONDON has worked with and promoted over 150 emerging and established writers since 2015. It is now a yearly literary competition and festival focusing on the novel. Newly published, unpublished and self-published novels are all welcome.
NOVEL LONDON has worked with and promoted over 150 emerging and established writers since 2015. It is now a yearly literary competition and festival focusing on the novel. Newly published, unpublished and self-published novels are all welcome.
Novel London Competition 2021 Winners
We had over 300 entries this year and we are proud to present this year's winners of the Novel London Literary Competition.
Bren Gosling
1st Prize
Bren Gosling is an Alumnus of City University’s Novel Studio. Shortlisted for Exeter Novel Prize. Finalist for Luke Bitmead Award. Bren’s writing appears in numerous anthologies including The London Short Story Prize and Brighton Prize. He is three times winner of City Writes Short Story competition. Last year, in 2020, he made the shortlist to the Novel London Literary Competition.His play Moment of Grace inspired by Princess Diana’s opening of Britain’s first AIDS Unit won the 2020 NO: INTERMISSION One Act Play Competition.
Bren’s play PROUD inspired by The Street Sweeper runs at New Wimbledon Theatre Autumn ‘21.
Thomas McKenzie
2nd Prize
"When it came time to compose my first novel, I decided to ‘write what I know.’ So I told a story of the people I’ve known. A tale racism and loss, of ignorance and manipulation, hope and hatred. I wanted to talk about the people who’ve been caught up in webs of power. In thinking about them—and the men who sometimes dominate these poor souls—the most realistic image I could imagine was of the immortal vampire. I’ve known vampires, I’ve worked for them, and I’ve even been a bit of one myself. This vampire story, Rector, is my attempt to tell the truth in the most honest way I can: as a tale of the undead."
- Thomas McKenzie, 2021
Arathi Menon
3rd Prize
Arathi Menon is an author and a columnist based in London. Pan Macmillan, India published her first book, a memoir, Leaving Home With Half A Fridge.
Her middle grade novel, A Mystery at Lili Villa was published by Yali Books in July 2021. She has had a few short stories published and been on a few longlists and shortlists including the Penguin Write Now programme, Faber FAB Prize, Ivan Juritz Prize, United Agents 100X100, the BPA First Novel Award. She completed her MA in Creative Writing Prose Fiction from UEA.
Judges for The Novel London Literary Competition 2021
Okechukwu Nzelu
Okechukwu Nzelu is a writer and teacher.
In 2015 he was the recipient of a New Writing North Award.
In 2020 his debut novel, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, and the Polari First Book Prize.
He lives in Manchester and is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Lancaster University.
Photo credit: Martin Glackin
Sairish Hussain
Sairish Hussain was born and brought up in Bradford, West Yorkshire. She studied English Language and Literature at the University of Huddersfield and progressed onto an MA in Creative Writing.
Sairish completed her PhD in 2019 after being awarded the university's Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship. Her debut novel, The Family Tree, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, and longlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award.
She is now writing her second book.
Jon Barton
Jon Barton edits for The Literary Consultancy and teaches for City Academy Ltd and Iconic Steps.
He is a London-based screenwriter with ten years’ experience as a dramatist, writing plays, continuing drama for the BBC, and new work for children and young people. His work has been produced onscreen and onstage at major London venues, including The Old Vic and The Almeida. He’s part of the BFI NETWORK x BAFTA Crew 2021, and his current spec screenplay was recently optioned by Northern Ireland Screen.
His debut novel, Dive, will be published next year.
NOVEL LONDON began as a monthly book reading event in London's bookshops and has worked with emerging and established writers since 2015. Since transitioning online, it is now a yearly literary competition and festival, which focuses on the novel. Newly published, unpublished and self published novels are all welcome.
SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
FIRST PRIZE
Novel London Trophy
+£500
+ 6 month Writing Mentorship with Nadine Matheson
SECOND PRIZE
£300
+ an assessment on your pitch (the first three chapters and synopsis)
by Christine Green
THIRD PRIZE
£100
+ 2 coaching sessions with writing coach, Melissa Addey
DEADLINE: 31ST JULY 2021
(11:59 PM GMT)
Novel London Literary Competition 2020 Winners
Aisling Watters
1st Prize
Novel London Trophy
- £500
+ Faber Academy Manuscript Assessment
Aisling Watters is twenty-eight. She lives in Wexford, south-east Ireland and she has a BA in English, Sociology and Politcs from NUI Galway and an MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature from University College Dublin.
She was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in 2020 and is currently represented by Elise Dilsworth.
Rupi Gohlar
2nd Prize
£300
+ 6 month Writing Mentorship with Nadine Matheson
Rupi Gohar has BA in English Literature (2.1 with honours) from the University of Sheffield and postgraduate course in Journalism and Editorial training with the Trinity Mirror Group as well as a Novel Writing and Longer Works course at the City University of London. She worked as a Senior Journalist and Features Writer for a number of years before moving on to a career in Communications and PR.
Same Same But Different is her debut novel.
Simon Cowdroy
3rd Prize
- £100
+ Bespoke Coaching With Melanie Abraham of Renaissance One
Simon lives as part of a dog dominated family near Melbourne, Australia. He returned to fiction in 2017 after a long absence and in 2018 two of his initial pieces of Flash Fiction were published in Bath Anthology Three (one of which was highly commended). In 2019 he joined UK based @VirtualZine as senior editor/ reader. In 2020 he repeated his flash fiction success with a runner-up prize at Bath Flash Fiction out of 1461 entries.
His first crime novel, Cut of a Knife, was a Pitch Perfect finalist at Bloody Scotland in 2018.
Special Thanks to Our Supporters
Nadine Matheson
Crime Writer & Mentor
Nadine Matheson has always been passionate about writing and storytelling. She was born and lives in London and is a Criminal Solicitor. In 2016, she won the City University Crime Writing Competition and completed the Creative Writing (Crime/Thriller Novels) MA at City University of London with Distinction in 2018.
She is a writing mentor and the author of Jigsaw Man.
Christine Green
Literary Agent
Christine Green started her career as a junior editor at the distinguished publishing house of Faber and Faber; from there she joined the John Johnson literary agency which handled writers such as Dick Francis, Clare Francis and D M Thomas – and where she first met Maeve Binchy. There started a friendship which lasted more than thirty years. Christine formed her own agency in 1984, since when she has worked closely with a small number of clients, among them many prize-sinning and best- selling writers.
Melissa Addey
Novelist and Tutor
Melissa Addey writes historical fiction set in China, Morocco and Ancient Rome. She was the 2016 Leverhulme Trust Writer in Residence at the British Library and has taught many students about writing and marketing. She spent fifteen years in business before becoming a fulltime author. She recently completed a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Surrey which included writing The Garden of Perfect Brightness for her Chinese series and looking at the importance of fiction in historical fiction.
She lives in London with her husband and two children.
