Deadline: June 30, 2022
About the contest
The Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction (‘The Lindisfarne Prize’) is a literary prize that recognises outstanding writing in the genre of crime or thriller fiction, sponsored by the author L J Ross through her publishing imprint, Dark Skies Publishing, in association with the Newcastle Noir Crime Writing Festival and Newcastle Libraries. It is open to all writers who are from, or whose work celebrates the North East of England, and who have not previously had their submission published in any form (though they might have had other stories published before). To be considered, entrants must submit a short story of no more than ten thousand words or the first two chapters and a synopsis of their work in progress.
The winning entry will be awarded a prize of £2500 to support the completion of their work and funding towards a year’s membership of both the Society of Authors (SoA) and the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and smaller financial awards to shortlisted candidates. Entries are open from 31st January 2022 – 30th June 2021.
The Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction offers financial support but, more importantly, helps to build and maintain creative confidence for new, emerging and established writers in the genre.
Contest guideline
Writers of crime or thriller fiction written in World English, whose work may have been published before, so long as the entry they plan to submit has not been published in any form; and who, at the time of entering, are from, resident in or whose work celebrates the North East of England*; and who are aged eighteen or over at the time of entry.
*For the purposes of this Prize, the ‘North East of England’ is defined as covering these areas:
- Darlington
- Durham and County Durham
- Gateshead
- Hartlepool
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- North Tyneside
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- South Tyneside
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Sunderland
How to enter
- Check the eligibility criteria to make sure you are eligible to apply for the award. The Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction is only open to writers from the North East of England, or whose work celebrates the North East of England, and whose submission has not been published before.
- Check the opening and closing dates for submissions (usually, 31st January and 30th June, respectively) and read the Terms and Conditions.
- Draft your entry carefully (either a short story of no more than 10,000 words, or the first two chapters of a longer work-in-progress, plus a short synopsis). You will not be able to change your entry once it has been submitted.
- Most queries are answered in ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, but if you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, please contact us.
- When you are happy with your work, submit your entry
