Since 2013, award-winning independent publisher Myriad Editions have supported the Creative Future Literary Awards by editing the CFLA anthologies, sitting on our panel of competition judges, and providing bespoke support and advice to our award winners. We recently caught up with Myriad’s Publisher and Managing Director Candida Lacey about some of the other ways that Myriad Editions supports writers.
Candida says:
Unlike many publishers, we have an open-door submissions policy in order to encourage writers from all backgrounds and at any stage in their careers to submit their work to us. We respond within three months and offer constructive feedback on every submission. In addition, we regularly talk to writers, in groups and in one-to-one sessions, about how we work and the publishing industry in general.
Myriad has built a reputation for recognising talent and providing dedicated care and attention to help new authors launch their careers. Because our list is small, we often have to turn down promising books that have real potential and deserve to find an audience, whether through finding the right agent or publisher, or through self-publishing. This is why we developed Myriad Creative — so that we can extend the intensive editorial support we offer our own authors to the wider writing community, through more detailed feedback and/or mentoring over a fixed period.
Like the Creative Future Literary Awards, Myriad runs a number of competitions which can be a great way to meet and support new writers. Myriad’s First Drafts Competition is at the heart of our mission to discover and nurture new writers. There are very few competitions for a work-in-progress and this is a brilliant opportunity for aspiring authors to get their work noticed by publishers and agents. Now in its seventh year, this competition is designed to recognise promising works-in-progress, be they short stories or the first few chapters of a novel. First Drafts has a proven track record in launching writers who have gone on to enjoy creative and commercial success. The deadline for the 2016 competition is 31 March.
As with our ‘First Drafts’ competition, the First Graphic Novel Competition is designed to recognise and showcase new talent, and to support the development of this talent. The winner has the opportunity to work with Myriad’s Creative Director, Corinne Pearlman, to develop a complete manuscript for publication.
To find out more about Myriad Editions and the work that they do, please visit http://www.myriadeditions.com/
