Which Northern Writers’ Awards can you apply for?
We’ve got loads of Northern Writers’ Awards open for submissions right now. But which one should you apply for? We’ve put together this guide to help you figure out which award is most suitable for you and your writing.
The Northern Writers’ Awards are open to any writers currently living in the North of England. We have different awards for unpublished and published writers across forms and genres. You can win prizes to help you develop your work-in-progress, including cash bursaries, mentoring, and career development opportunities.
If you write for children or young adults you can enter...
The Hachette Children’s Novel Awards (deadline 12 January)
- Career stage: Unpublished
- For children’s and early teen fiction
- For novel drafts that are near completion. Shortlisted applicants will need to provide a full manuscript by February 2026.
- Can apply in addition to another award
The Northern Debut Awards (deadline 5 February)
- Career stage: Unpublished
- For Young Adult fiction
- For works-in-progress at any stage of development
The Children’s Books North Network Prize (deadline 26 February)
- Career stage: Unpublished
- For children’s book illustrations
- Can apply in addition to another award
The Charlotte Aitken Trust Awards (deadline 26 February)
- Career stage: Early career/Published 1-3 works
- For Young Adult fiction
- For works-in-progress at any stage of development
- Can apply in addition to another award
If you write fiction or narrative non-fiction you can enter...
The Great Northern Read Award (deadline 5 February)
- Career stage: Unpublished and unagented
- For genres including crime, mystery, historical, romance, fantasy, sci-fi and book club fiction
- For novel drafts that are near completion. Shortlisted applicants will need to provide a full manuscript by March 2026.
The Northern Debut Awards (deadline 5 February)
- Career stage: Unpublished
- For fiction from any genre, or narrative non-fiction (memoir, nature writing, etc.)
- For works-in-progress at any stage of development
The Northern Writers’ Awards (deadline 5 February)
- Career stage: Any
- For fiction from any genre, or narrative non-fiction (memoir, nature writing, etc.)
- For works-in-progress at any stage of development
The Charlotte Aitken Trust Awards (deadline 26 February)
- Career stage: Early career/Published 1-3 works
- For fiction from any genre, or narrative non-fiction (memoir, nature writing, etc.)
- For works-in-progress at any stage of development
- Can apply in addition to another award
If you write poetry you can enter...
The Northern Debut Awards (deadline 5 February)
- Career stage: Unpublished
- For poetry collections, rather than individual poems
- For works-in-progress at any stage of development
The Northern Writers’ Awards (deadline 5 February)
- Career stage: Any
- For poetry collections, rather than individual poems
- For works-in-progress at any stage of development
The Charlotte Aitken Trust Awards (deadline 26 February)
- Career stage: Early career/Published 1-3 works
- For poetry collections, rather than individual poems
- For works-in-progress at any stage of development
- Can apply in addition to another award