Novel Fair 2018 Application Deadline

The Irish Writers Centre is pleased to announce the launch of the the Novel Fair 2018. As you may know the Novel Fair is an Irish Writers Centre initiative which aims to introduce up-and-coming writers to top publishers and literary agents, giving novelists the opportunity to bypass the slush pile, pitch their ideas and place their synopsis and sample chapters directly into the hands of publishers and agents.

Over the past few years a range of publishers and agents have attended the Fair including Penguin Random House Ireland, Hachette Ireland, Transworld Ireland, Curtis Brown, New Island Books, O’Brien Press/Brandon, Lilliput Press, Tramp Press, The Book Bureau, John Murray, Tinder Press, Marianne Gunn O’Connor Literary Agency, Jonathan Williams Literary Agency, Lisa Richards Agency, Feldstein Agency and Author Rights Agency as well as New York based agent Regal Hoffmann & Associates.

The Novel Fair is open to writers from all over the world, so long as they have not published a novel before.

Application Process

  • The submission period is Thursday 13 April – Friday 20 October 2017.
  • Entry fee for applications is €50 for non-members and €40 for IWC members and is non-refundable.
  • There is no limitation on style, genre, or target market, the only requirement being that the writer has not published a novel before i.e. has not previously published a novel with an ISBN.
  • Applicants are required to send a synopsis of a max. of 300 words and up to five chapters of their novel, which should be 10,000 words (+/- 10%).
  • Please send two copies of the manuscript and three copies of the synopsis. One copy of the synopsis should be attached to the application form which can be downloaded from our site, the other two should be attached to the copies of your manuscript.
  • All submissions should be posted or hand delivered to: Novel Fair Competition, Irish Writers Centre, 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Ireland.
  • Entries must be accompanied by an application form.
  • There is a limit of one entry per applicant.

Entries are welcome from anywhere in the world, however, in order to be eligible, applicants must be available to attend the whole day of the Fair in February 2018