The Watson, Little x Indie Novella Prize

We are absolutely delighted to have teamed up with writers’ forum Indie Novella for a new version of the Watson, Little Prize in 2023. The prize is a celebration of emerging voices from underrepresented communities. We are looking for new, exciting UK-based novelists from a wide range of backgrounds who have written something they are proud of!

In 2021, we ran the inaugural Watson, Little Prize. We are now running the second edition of the prize alongside Indie Novella, who are an online hub providing free advisory services to aspiring writers and a free online forum to help novel-writing more accessible.

This year, we are inviting writers to enter under the themes of community, climate and crime fiction.

The prize is open to writers living in Britain and Ireland and who are aged 16 and over. Submissions should be 5,000 words, plus a 3,000 word synopsis which should be the first page of the entry document. Longlisted entrants will be asked to submit their full manuscript for the next stage of the judging process.

The submission deadline is midnight 14th February 2023, and entries should be submitted via the Indie Novella website.

Entrants who are selected for the longlist will be notified by 31st March, and the shortlistees by 30th April. An announcement will be made on 31st May 2023 of the winners and commended entries.

Winning entries will receive a one-page report and one-hour session from one of our agents at Watson, Little. Agents will have first option to represent the winner and to offer their novel to publishers if they choose. Winners and commended entries will also receive a short written report from Indie Novella, with critical appraisal from all judges, and an extract of their novel will feature in an exclusive prize anthology, made available for participants, containing exclusive artwork created for participants by Indie Novella creative director Callum Hood. There is no application fee. Terms and conditions and information on how to enter, can be found here. Read more about the The Watson, Little x Indie Novella Prize in the bookseller.