Individual prizes
Two prizes will be given at each level – one for poetry and one for prose.
The 2021 prizes are:
Platinum
- £100 cash prize
- A Chapter & Verse mentorship with a published author or professional editor and a manuscript assessment via The Literary Consultancy, plus the chance to attend a TLC Industry Day
- ‘Writing A Novel‘ course with Faber Academy (prose), or selected online masterclass course from The Poetry School (poetry)
- A ‘meet the professional’ consultation with Myriad Editions (prose); or Out-Spoken Press (poetry)
Gold
- £75 cash prize
- A manuscript assessment via The Literary Consultancy
- A six-week online writing course from Curtis Brown Creative (prose) or The Poetry School (poetry)
- A year’s subscription to Mslexia Magazine
Silver
- £50 cash prize
- Partial manuscript assessment & coaching from The Writing Coach
- A copy of Mslexia’s Indie Press Guide.
Bronze
- £25 cash prize
- Poem critique from Waterloo Press or story critique from Writing Magazine (prose)
- A copy of a The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Writing Guide
Highly Commended
- 1 year subscription to Writing Magazine (poetry) or Writing Magazine resource pack (prose)
- A copy of The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook
Commended
- A copy of The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook
Joint prizes
All winners will also be:
- Published in the award anthology alongside the Chief Judge/Host (Dorothy Koomson) and Guest Judge/Author (Joelle Taylor)
- Read their work at the high profile showcase event alongside the host and guest writers, as part of the London Literature Festival (TBC)
- Invited to our Writer’s Day event as part of the London Literature Festival (TBC)
- Receive a copy of our Pathway Guide for Writers, and our Pitching To Agents guide (prose) or Social Media Toolkit (poetry)
- Receive ongoing support, advice, and signposting from Creative Future
No professional development prizes can be exchanged for cash. Award winners may need to conduct meetings or mentoring via phone, email, or videoconferencing. Please note that prizes are subject to change as we develop award partnerships.
2021 Opportunities for Past Winners
We’re very pleased to announce some amazing opportunities this year, exclusively for past winners of the CF Writers’ Award.
Next Up
The Literary Consultancy (TLC) and Creative Future have been generously supported by a donation from bestselling novelist Claire McGowan, with additional funding from Arts Council England, to provide a year-long programme of support, development, and mentoring for unpublished past CFWA winners/those shortlisted.
Claire published her first novel in 2012 and has followed it up with many others in the crime fiction genre and also in women’s fiction (writing as Eva Woods). She has had three radio plays broadcast on Radio 4, and her last two thrillers both went to number one on Kindle. She ran the UK’s first MA in crime writing for five years, and regularly teaches and talks about writing. She was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year award in 2019. In screenwriting, Claire was selected as the 2018 International Fellow on the Nickelodeon Writers’ Program, working in L.A. for six months. She has also written a play, articles and short stories, and a non-fiction audiobook for Audible.
“As a young writer starting out, I had convinced myself I would never succeed, and indeed that I had already failed, without actually ever trying or showing my work to anyone. I want to help other writers, especially from backgrounds that are underrepresented in publishing, see that there is a place for them in this world, and help create some ramps in if possible.”
The programme
Next Up will provide ten writers from communities underrepresented in the publishing industry with:
- Six hours’ 1:1 professional/creative mentoring (online or in-person)
- Meetup and Development Day with fellow writers
- TLC Industry Day, covering pitching and the state of the publishing industry, with a literary agent and publisher
- A suite of TLC Craft Mini Guide e-books
- VIP invitation to the CFWA 2021 showcase reception, attended by publishing and industry leaders
- Full manuscript assessment from TLC
Poetry School
Poetry School is pleased to offer a substantial package of professional development support to past poetry winners of the CF Writers’ Award.
- Development Masterclasses: Subject to final confirmation of resources, Creative Future will create an online peer network of past CFWA poetry winners. Poetry School will provide three online poetry masterclasses across 2021 from some of their top tutors.
- Wellbeing Masterclass: Poetry School will provide an online masterclass to past poetry winners.
- Teaching Opportunities: One poetry winner will have the opportunity to teach an Instagram Ginkgo ecopoetry workshop. Winners can receive support in developing their pitch from Poetry School.
- Bursaries: For those who can't afford the full cost, poets can apply for a bursary to cover up to 100% of Poetry School activity costs. Priority will be given to those who have not received financial support from them before. You can also find out more about the School's range of concessions here: https://poetryschool.com/financial-support/. Remember to sign up for Poetry School's weekly newsletter to receive alerts about termly deadlines for the scheme, as well as much more here.