The Green Stories Novel writing competition call for applicants for 2023 is now open! The competition’s mission is to create a cultural body of work that entertains and informs about green solutions, inspires green behaviour and raises awareness of the necessary transformations towards a sustainable economy.
The Green Stories Novel writing competition 2023 Details
Currently most green communications preach to the converted i.e. only those who already care choose to watch climate change documentaries or read books with a green theme. Thus a particular aim is to use fiction as a way to reach a wider audience, and support winning authors to translate their stories into published books.
Submission Guidelines
To avoid large numbers of entries that don’t meet the criteria, entrants must show they have read at least one of the books from the Green Stories project that provide an example of entertaining mainstream fiction that meets the criteria of showing green solutions (not just problems) that readers can engage with.
They ask you to read at least one of these before submitting your entry – ideally before completing your draft. This is because most entries in previous years didn’t meet the criteria of including green solutions into an entertaining story or showing a vision of what a sustainable society might look like.
- Habitat Man, eco-themed rom-com
- No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save our Planet, an anthology of short stories (2022)
- Resurrection Trust, an anthology of short stories (2018)
- Visco, winner of the 2020 Green Stories novel prize
When you submit you will be asked three questions:
- Please say which story you read and write a paragraph or two on which sections/stories best combined entertainment with green solutions?
- Please write a paragraph or two on any stories/sections that did not do this well.
- Did reading these stories/book affect your knowledge, attitudes, emotions (e.g. eco-anxiety, hope) or behaviour in any way? If so, please write a paragraph or two to explain.
The answers to these questions inform our choice of which stories to keep in future and also help authors to understand what works well and what doesn’t. Note: You do not need to include this with your submission – questions will be via a separate text box upon submitting.
Length
Typically novels are 60,000 – 95,000 words. Submit three chapters* (minimum of 4000 words, maximum 10,000 words) as one document that must include the following:
- the first chapter
- another chapter that best showcases how your novel meets the green stories criteria
- a third chapter (suggest the final chapter if possible)
- a synopsis between 500 and 1000 words (name and contact details optional – we can identify via submission page) that covers genre, plot, characters, and details of how it meets the green stories criteria of showcasing positive visions of a more sustainable society or incorporating green solutions into the context of an otherwise mainstream story.
Eligibility
All submissions must conform to the green stories criteria of showcasing positive visions of a more sustainable society or incorporating green solutions into the context of an otherwise mainstream story. We will accept young adult but are NOT looking for children’s stories.
The competition is open to novels that are either:
– Partially complete (at least 50%) in the first draft phase
– Fully complete and unpublished (between 50,000 and 100,000 words).
Who can enter the competition?
Competition Entry fee
The competition is free to enter.
The Green Stories Novel writing competition 2023 Prizes
£1000/$1200 for the winner and £500/$600 for runner up, plus mentoring towards publication
Publishing is just half the battle, to help winners achieve sales we will promote the winning book (once published) via our networks.
Application Deadline
The deadline for submission is June 26, 2023.
Competition Website
You can check the competition website following this link.
Check other prizes and contests following International Competitions category