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.