Luke Bitmead Bursary
The Luke Bitmead Bursary is an annual award set up to support and encourage the work of fledgling novel writers. The award, now in it's 7th year, is the UK's biggest prize for unpublished authors. Here are our 6 brilliant winners:
Submissions are now open for the 2014 Luke Bitmead Bursary!
The bursary was set up by Luke’s family shortly after Luke’s sudden and tragic death in 2006, aged just 34. Luke was the first novelist to be published by Legend Press, and we are delighted to work with Luke's family each year on the award to honour his memory and help reduce the stigma attached to mental health issues. The top prize is a publishing contract with Legend Press, as well as a £2500 cash bursary.
Luke is the author of the brilliant White Summer, and also two novels published posthumously: The Body is a Temple and Heading South (co-authored by Catherine Richards). Information about Luke can be found at www.lukebitmead.com.
Andrew Blackman, our 2008 winner: 'Without Luke my book would not have existed. Everything I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of years – all the sales, all the readings, the signings, the radio interviews, the film rights – all of it has come about because of Luke and the efforts of his family to create something positive out of the tragedy of his death.'
Ruth Dugdall, our 2009 winner: ‘Winning the bursary was my absolute breakthrough moment, but even knowing that my novel would be published I could never have been prepared for what happened next. Readers told me how moved they were, how the story lingered long after they closed the cover; such feedback is a gift for any writer. And other gifts followed with foreign rights being sold, and the championing of the novel by Amazon. I have also had two other books, The James Version & The Sacrificial Man, published by Legend Press.’
Sophie Duffy, our 2010 winner: 'I'll always be grateful to Luke and his amazing warrior mother, Elaine. Winning the bursary and having The Generation Game published gave me validation as a writer. But, more importantly, Luke's story has helped me speak out about my own battle with depression and given me the confidence to challenge the stigma of mental health issues whenever I can. You need guts to be a writer, tenacity if you want to be published. Entering the bursary just might give you the chance to have your turn in the sun.'
Thank you for your interest in the 2014 Luke Bitmead Bursary. We look forward to reading your work. Your entry should be sent using the form below. If you have any problems, or general queries about the Bursary please email bitmeadbursary@legendpress.co.uk
Guidelines:
- Novels must be already completed before entry. Unfinished manuscripts will not be accepted.
- Novels must be 50k words or over to be considered.
- Entrants must be aged 16 or over.
- Submissions must be from first-time, non-published authors – particularly those who are talented but whose personal or financial circumstances are making it especially hard for them to focus on writing as a career.
- We are happy to accept submissions from self-published authors and authors who have traditionally published any other form of writing except a novel in the past (eg short stories, poems etc).
- We only accept submissions of adult fiction, so unfortunately will not consider Children's or YA fiction.
Submissions are open from 1st May 2014 to 1st August 2014.
Your submission should include the following (as indicated in the form below):
1) Synopsis of your work (no more than 1 page)
2) Personal Statement (This should be approximately 1 to 2 pages long and should be uploaded as a Word or PDF document). The statement is an important part of the application process and we invite you to introduce yourself to the judges and tell us why you feel you would particularly benefit from the bursary.
3) The first 3 to 4 chapters of your novel (uploaded as a Word or PDF document). If your novel does not follow a conventional format we would suggest you submit the first 50 pages of your novel.
Submit on-line here: http://www.legendtimesgroup.co.uk/legend-press/365-luke-bitmead-bursary
Submissions are now open for the 2014 Luke Bitmead Bursary!
The bursary was set up by Luke’s family shortly after Luke’s sudden and tragic death in 2006, aged just 34. Luke was the first novelist to be published by Legend Press, and we are delighted to work with Luke's family each year on the award to honour his memory and help reduce the stigma attached to mental health issues. The top prize is a publishing contract with Legend Press, as well as a £2500 cash bursary.
Luke is the author of the brilliant White Summer, and also two novels published posthumously: The Body is a Temple and Heading South (co-authored by Catherine Richards). Information about Luke can be found at www.lukebitmead.com.
Endorsements from previous winners:
Andrew Blackman, our 2008 winner: 'Without Luke my book would not have existed. Everything I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of years – all the sales, all the readings, the signings, the radio interviews, the film rights – all of it has come about because of Luke and the efforts of his family to create something positive out of the tragedy of his death.'
Ruth Dugdall, our 2009 winner: ‘Winning the bursary was my absolute breakthrough moment, but even knowing that my novel would be published I could never have been prepared for what happened next. Readers told me how moved they were, how the story lingered long after they closed the cover; such feedback is a gift for any writer. And other gifts followed with foreign rights being sold, and the championing of the novel by Amazon. I have also had two other books, The James Version & The Sacrificial Man, published by Legend Press.’
Sophie Duffy, our 2010 winner: 'I'll always be grateful to Luke and his amazing warrior mother, Elaine. Winning the bursary and having The Generation Game published gave me validation as a writer. But, more importantly, Luke's story has helped me speak out about my own battle with depression and given me the confidence to challenge the stigma of mental health issues whenever I can. You need guts to be a writer, tenacity if you want to be published. Entering the bursary just might give you the chance to have your turn in the sun.'
How to Submit:
Thank you for your interest in the 2014 Luke Bitmead Bursary. We look forward to reading your work. Your entry should be sent using the form below. If you have any problems, or general queries about the Bursary please email bitmeadbursary@legendpress.co.uk
Guidelines:
- Novels must be already completed before entry. Unfinished manuscripts will not be accepted.
- Novels must be 50k words or over to be considered.
- Entrants must be aged 16 or over.
- Submissions must be from first-time, non-published authors – particularly those who are talented but whose personal or financial circumstances are making it especially hard for them to focus on writing as a career.
- We are happy to accept submissions from self-published authors and authors who have traditionally published any other form of writing except a novel in the past (eg short stories, poems etc).
- We only accept submissions of adult fiction, so unfortunately will not consider Children's or YA fiction.
Submissions are open from 1st May 2014 to 1st August 2014.
Your submission should include the following (as indicated in the form below):
1) Synopsis of your work (no more than 1 page)
2) Personal Statement (This should be approximately 1 to 2 pages long and should be uploaded as a Word or PDF document). The statement is an important part of the application process and we invite you to introduce yourself to the judges and tell us why you feel you would particularly benefit from the bursary.
3) The first 3 to 4 chapters of your novel (uploaded as a Word or PDF document). If your novel does not follow a conventional format we would suggest you submit the first 50 pages of your novel.
Submit on-line here: http://www.legendtimesgroup.co.uk/legend-press/365-luke-bitmead-bursary
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