The 2019 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize (Award: £15,000)—Apply

The Wilbur Smith Adventure writing prize is looking for adventure stories that takes readers on a journey, one that celebrates, courage, resilience and willpower of the characters. The prize was started by the” Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation,” which is a charity organization “dedicated to empowering young writers, the advancement of the adventure writing genre and the promotion of literacy.”

The prize is divided into two categories:
– Award for Best Published Novel
– Award for Best Unpublished Novel

General Submission Guidelines:
– All entries are to be submitted via their “Submittable” page. Visit
– The competition is open to writers of any nationality writing in English.
– For published entries, entrants may submit multiple works by the same author so long as they are published between 1st May 2018 – 30th April 2019. Proof copies are accepted.
– Entries must be submitted digitally, most preferably as a .pdf file, but could also be submitted as .epub and .mobi files.
– Submissions must exceed 50,000 words in length, an ideal length would be 75,000+ words
– For submissions for the unpublished novel category, the author must not be represented by a literary agent or have a novel published by a recognized trade publisher.
– Self-published books are also eligible.
– The judging process is blind, hence there must be no reference to the author’s name or personal details anywhere in the manuscript.

Click To Learn How To Write An Award Winning Novel

Prizes and Awards:
– For “Best Published Novel,” £15,000
– For “Best Unpublished Manuscript”, a publishing deal with Bonnier Books UK with a writer’s advance of £15,000 and the book will be published in 2020.
– Also, each of the shortlisted writers will receive three months of one-to-one manuscript development with literary consultant, David Llewelyn, to help each writer attain the standard necessary for submission to agents and publishers.

This is a fantastic opportunity for writers who are interested in making money from their writing.

Submission Deadline:
1st March, 2019.

• Winners would be announced announced on 12th September, 2019.