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Posts Tagged ‘Arts Council England’

Having publicized the debut novel competition on this site, it’s nice to announce that  independent publisher Route Online have picked a winner – 27-year-old Sophie Coulombeau (pictured) from York. The competition, supported by Arts Council England, was aimed at novelists under 30 living in Yorkshire.

Coulombeau’s book, provisionally titled Rites,  tells the story of a group of four teenagers who make a pact to lose their virginity away from the watchful eyes of parents and priest. Ten years later, they look back on the events and unravel how it all went horribly wrong. Route editor Ian Daley said of the award, ‘We are thrilled to be publishing this book and to be working with Sophie. She’s a great talent, with an exciting future in front of her. The book manages to have that rare combination of being both richly complex and a riveting read.’ The novel will be published in summer 2012.

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The Arts Council England is backing a bid by the independent publishers Route to find “Yorkshire’s next great author”. The company has launched a competition for 18-30-year-old aspiring authors with the prize of a book deal for the winner. The Bookseller quotes Yorkshire-born author David Peace (Red Riding, The Damned United) as saying, “As the major London publishing houses close their doors and eyes to unsolicited manuscripts this opening provides a rare opportunity for young unpublished novelists to have their work actually read and considered for publication.” Applicants, who must be living in Yorkshire, should apply including a synopsis and sample text up to 10,000 words by 31st May. More info on the Route Online website.