We had some AMAZING pitches sent into the competition yesterday…the standard felt even higher than last time and we had more entries.
We read, agonised, argued and chatted about who to put on the long list.
Even beyond the ones we’ve chosen, so many others could have been on here.

One thing to remember before reading on, is how subjective it is. I hate that expression but it’s very, very true. We attempted to combat this to an extent by having several of us read the pitches, marking the ones who stood out. Only those marked by more than one of us made it through the initial reads.

We essentially had about 50 or so fighting it out for the final 30 spots on the Longlist.

If you missed out this time, don’t be disheartened – you will all get feedback on your pitch and you will receive a discount code for a Writers HQ course.

So here’s the authors and titles that made the long list. We’ll announce the short list on Friday at Midday, followed by the winners at a time/day to be announced. We must give time for our lovely judges to decide!

AL-MOST HAUNTED by Emma Dykes

ANYA KOZLOVA AND THE DRAGON by Sofiya Pasternack

A POOL OF DEAD BUTTERFLIES by Sophia G. Duong

DANCING LEDGE by Ellie Lock

GHOSTED by Scarlet Noire

GIRL CODE by Jeanna Skinner

I WOULDN’T START FROM HERE by Sheila Adams

JAZ AND THE MYSTERIOUS TABLET: FARAWAY WORLD by Deb Drick

LEGEND HAS IT by Brooke Urbaniak

LOVE BITES by Emma Finlayson-Palmer

LOCKDOWN by Mike O’Reilly

PATH OF FIRE by Stephanie

TROGLODYTE by Lydia Massiah

THE LUCK EXCHANGE by Karen Y. Bynum

MY NAME IS MERMAID by Emma Dykes

MILTON HITS THE HEADLINES by Emma Dykes

NO RESPAWN AVAILABLE by Marisa Noelle

SANDY BRISTOL, CHICKEN EXTRAORDINAIRE by Anne Boyere

SPECTRUM by Marisa Noelle

THE BOOK BOYFRIEND by Jeanna Skinner

THE BOY OF ORION by Emma Dykes

THE DREAMON by Ellie Firestone

THE GHOST QUEEN OF VENGEANCE HALL by Rayna Reveur

THE JOURNEY by Caroline Murphy

THE LONELY BETWEEN by Haley Reed

THE M NAME by Gail Zhuang

THE WISHBONE DEMON by Anna Orridge

UNDER THE NORTHERN LIGHTS by DC Adams

WEIRDOS OF LONDON by Ellie Lock

WELCOME TO WORROS by Becks Nunn

To those of you that have got to the bottom of the list and your heart has been broken a little on finding that your entry / entries are not there, don’t forget: YOU WILL BE RECEIVING FEEDBACK. And hopefully, after this exercise, your pitch will come out all the stronger for having taken part.