Major new writing for children prize launches

The Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children's Writing has a prize of £5,000 and a publishing deal with Scholastic
The winner will also be offered representation by Luigi Bonomi Associates (LBA), a trip to Venice and a Montegrappa pen worth £1,000.
The competition, which has been created by publishers Scholastic and Italian stationery firm Montegrappa, has The Independent and LBA as partners.
'We pride ourselves on publishing the best children’s books for every age group,' said Samantha Smith, fiction publisher at Scholastic. 'We’re delighted to be partnering with some of the most exciting champions for writing in our search for a scorching new talent for our list. If you can write spectacular prose for 7-12 year olds, we would love to see it.'
The prize, which was launched by Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman (pictured) at the London Book Fair, is for previously unpublished new fiction for children aged 7-12.
'Hone your story and write from the heart,' said Malorie. 'It could be something that makes children laugh or it could be a scary book - but if it’s something that interests you first and foremost then hopefully children will want to read it as well.'
Writers entering the competition should not be represented by a literary agent.
To enter, send 5,000 words, a one-page synopsis and an author biography. Shortlisted writers will need to produce a full manuscript by 8 August.
The closing date is is 2 June.

For all the latest publishing news, subscribe to Writing Magazine or download our app

Register and sign up for our newsletter for late-breaking news, more competitions and exclusive content