Synopsis and first 5 pages of your fiction manuscript to be read and judged by a top UK Literary Agent

Prize includes lunch with Luigi Bonomi of Bonomi Associates at London Book Fair 2013

The Emirates Airlines International Festival of Literature is hosting a series of competitions, and one of the most exciting ones is the The Montegrappa First Fiction Competition.

So what is this competition you ask? well it is the chance for an unpublished writer to win the opportunity to have their fiction manuscript to be read and judged by a top UK Literary Agent! (Bonomi Associates is the name of the agency)

Who can enter?

This competition is open to writers over the age of 21 years and of any nationality who are currently resident in the UAE

entrants must not have had a novel published before* (see below for explanation)

What is the prize?

The winner receives

1. a trip to the London Book Fair, to include travel (economy class return ticket) and accommodation; all other costs are to be met by the winner
2. lunch with Luigi Bonomi
3. one copy of current Writers and Artists Yearbook

Two runners-up will receive

1. tickets to selected events at the 2013 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Dubai, and a copy of the current Writers and Artists Yearbook
2. The winner and runners-up will be honoured in a prize-giving ceremony at the Festival

All entrants will be invited to the prize-giving.

What are the rules? Please read them carefully!

1. only one entry per person
2. the novel can be any genre, but must be in English
3. the entrance fee of 200 dirhams is payable online before submission and is non refundable
4. your synopsis must be 400 words maximum. Please put the synopsis at the start of your submission
5. submit ONLY the first 5 pages of your novel (maximum 2000 words)

Any entries without a synopsis or longer than 5 pages (2000 words) will be disqualified

The entry fee must be paid here

The order number from this transaction must entered into the form below for your entry to be considered

Manuscripts must

• be double-spaced, with pages numbered consecutively
• be in Arial, Courier or Times New Roman font | 12 point size
• include a synopsis of no more than 400 words
• be saved as “Manuscript Title – Your Name”
• be submitted electronically as Microsoft Word documents or PDFs via this submission form

Deadline for all entries is January 20 2013

When will the winner be announced?

The winner will be announced during the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature between 5th – 9th March 2013. Winner and runners-up will be notified by email before this

• The winner must be available to attend the prize-giving event at the Festival
• the winner must be available to travel to London Book Fair 15th – 17th April 2013 and provide their own visa and travel insurance

Who is Luigi Bonomi?

Luigi Bonomi is a literary agent who has launched the careers of many bestselling authors. He is the founder of Luigi Bonomi Associates (LBA) which represents a variety of authors, journalists and writers, including John Humphrys, Esther Rantzen and Alan Titchmarsh. In addition to his day job, he is Honorary Professor of Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University and Literary Consultant for the Sunday Times Oxford University Literary Festival. In 2010 he won the Bookseller Industry Award for Literary Agent of the Year.

* WHAT CONSTITUTES A PUBLISHED NOVEL: For the purpose of this Competition, a “Published Novel” means a work of fiction of at least 40,000 words in length that has been published or distributed, in part or whole, in paper or electronic format or in any other medium, excluding, however, self-published works.

Find out the Terms and Conditions and more info about this competition here