Launched today: Audible New Writing Grant: The Crime Edition

Win a £10,000 audio-first publishing grant with Audible in this new competition for unpublished crime/thriller novels

Three finalists will be selected. The winner will receive a £10,000 grant to publish their work in audio first as a priority release in summer 2018, and mentoring from members of the judging panel. Judges include bestselling crime authors Mark Billingham and Sharon Bolton, Clare Corbett, who narrated The Girl on the Train, Daily Telegraph crime critic Jake Kerridge and Audible content director Laurence Howell.
‘What’s special about this kind of storytelling is the intimate connection with the listener,’ said Mark Billingham. ‘We’ll be looking for stories that create suspense and tension through classic techniques such as the cliffhanger and the twist, but more importantly we’ll be looking for strong, multidimensional characters that really engage and resonate with the listener. Everyone loves being told a great story and that is exactly what we’re looking for.'
Clare Corbett asks writers to consider what makes a novel work in audio. ‘Writers should think about how they would naturally speak – we rarely talk as formally as we write and rhythm is really important,’ she said. ‘A bit of variety in sentence length and structure will hold a listener’s attention and leaving space for silence is central to tension-building.’
Laurence Howell, senior director at Audible, wants to connect with new listeners and encourage great new storytelling. ‘Audio offers enormous potential for creators to connect with new listeners,' he said. 'This New Writing Grant allows us to support, daring, innovative storytelling whilst also giving our listeners access to exclusive audio stories we know they’ll love. We’ve commissioned original works from Philip Pullman, Robert Caro and Tom Rachman amongst others, now we’re looking to nurture the next generation of writing talent.’
To enter, email digital versions (Word doc or pdf) of a complete, unpublished crime/thriller manuscript at least 50,000 words long, a submission letter including contact details and stating why you think your submission should be published by Audible and a full synopsis no longer than two pages.
Entry is free.
The closing date is 30 November.

For full details, see the website.

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