TO HELL WITH IT

Here's a competition you MAY be eligible for and which you MAY be interested in.

It's an interesting idea - a sort of bridging opportunity.
You've written the book, you've got an agent, but they haven't made the sale.

Shit. How are you going to get some action going?

Well, if you're a resident of the UK and you've got yourself a UK agent and you've got a marketable 'script, but you're still unpublished, the To Hell With It first novel competition could be a way to go.

Last year's winner, David Whitehouse, picked up the £5000 prize and a special limited edition print-run for his novel Bed. His agent, Cathryn Summerhayes of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, then went on to sell the novel to Jamie Byng's Canongate Books.

Obviously, if they've done their homework, your agent will know about this competition and will have already delivered your finely turned, finely proofed typescript to the award jury for their assessment. If they haven't already done so you have until November 4th to get your act together.

The award ceremony is to be held in April 2011, immediately before The London Book Fair opens. The hope is this will further enhance the winner’s chances of securing a publishing deal.

All first works of fiction written by a UK resident will be eligible, but the author must be represented by a UK literary agency and be unpublished up until the point of the shortlist announcement in February 2011. Short story collections are not eligible.

Go HERE to download the guidelines and rules.

To Hell With Publishing will accept submissions from writers -- go HERE to check out their submission guidelines.

I've also put up a link to their site over in the UK Publishers Who Will Accept Submissions sidebar.

Best of luck.