The Borough Press is Having Open Submissions for Underrepresented Writers

The Borough Press is an imprint by HarperCollinsPublishers, named after Borough near UK’s London Bridge. They are eager to discover new voices that will be tomorrow’s household names. From December 2020 through March 31st, 2021, writers from underrepresented backgrounds are invited to submit new, original written works.

To enter, you must be from a lower socio-economic background, and/or of Black, Asian or minority ethnic background. You must be UK residents over the age of 18 without a literary agent except employees of HarperCollins. The winner will receive a £10,000 publishing contract with The Borough Press 5 and will have the opportunity to find a literary agent, with the guidance of HarperCollins’ Talent and Audience Development Manager.

Each submission should contain:
a) The first three chapters or fifty pages, in either case no more than 10,000 words, of a novel with sequential page numbering included, with the first page being the title page;
b) Synopsis of whole book*, including the complete plot and the story’s end (maximum 500 words); a one paragraph summary of the book; a short list of the main characters; and
c) Author biography, to include any blogs and/or social media information, any creative writing courses attended, short stories published, prizes won, literary or media mentors and contacts, etc. (maximum 1 page). Entrants should also include their ethnicity and the occupation of the highest earner in their household when they were age 14.

Click here for more entry criteria. Before submitting, read the full terms & conditions.