The Lindsay Literary Scholarship

THE Lindsay Literary Agency has been sponsoring a fully funded diversity scholarship since 2018 and we are delighted to announce that we will be doing the same for the Virtual Writers’ Weekend in 2020.

The 2020 scholarship will be awarded to a children’s fiction writer (picture book, middle grade or YA) who is a person of colour. The funding covers the cost of an attendee ticket with access to all workshops and talks together with a one-to-one tutorial with founder of the Lindsay Literary Agency, Becky Bagnell, plus video recordings of key sessions during the weekend that can be viewed for up to one month.

The Virtual Writers’ Weekend 2020 will take place from 9th-12th July. For more details please see the website The Virtual Writers’ Weekend

Who Can Apply?

Any writer who lives in the UK or Ireland and is a person of colour may apply. Applicants must be unpublished and un-agented, but may be self-published. Each submission will be judged solely on the work submitted and its potential together with the statement supplied.

How To Submit?

1. Entries should be emailed to scholarship@lindsayliteraryagency.co.uk In the subject line please put Lindsay Literary Scholarship 2020 Entry.
2. In the body of the email, please include your name, address, email and telephone.
3.Please attach your work-in-progress sample: 2,000 words from the opening of your unpublished or self-published middle-grade or YA script or picture book text. For picture book texts we expect these to be around or under 1000 words per text and so you may submit up to two texts with a maximum word count across both texts of 2000 words. However, one picture book text which is made up of between 300 to a maximum of 1300 words is also an acceptable submission.
4. Please attach your statement. This should be 500 or fewer words in a Word document. Please give some details on your writing background, whether you are unpublished or self-published, how attending the Writers’ Weekend will help you in your writing career and why you should be awarded the scholarship. Applicants are asked to self-identify with regard to their eligibility. Please include information on any relevant writing courses, degree or MA courses you are attending or have completed.
5. Please attach your synopsis. This should be 500 or fewer words in a Word document.

Deadline?

Friday, 3rd July 2020 at midnight.

Who Are The Judges?

This year together with Becky Bagnell we’re very lucky to have Asmaa Isse from Penguin Random House and Kirsty Stansfield from Nosy Crow judging the scholarship.

Terms and Conditions

Eligibility
• Work should be the applicant’s own and should not be under contract with a publisher.
• Applicants must be un-agented.
• You may submit work that has previously been self-published.
• The work must be part of a complete work.
• If you have completed an MA in creative writing or are currently taking part in a similar course please make this clear in your statement.
• Amendments cannot be made once the Work has been submitted.
General details
• The winner of the Scholarship will be announced on or before 8th July 2020. If you have not heard by this date unfortunately you may assume you have not been successful.
• If the winner of the Scholarship cannot be contacted or does not respond within 3 days the Lindsay Literary Agency reserves the right to select another Scholar from entries which were received before the closing date.
• Due to the high volume of submissions, the Lindsay Literary Agency is unable to contact applicants on progress of submissions. However, applicants will receive an automated acknowledgement of receipt by email.
• Applicants who sign a contract with a publisher or agent before the 2020 Virtual Writers’ Weekend must withdraw.
• Lindsay Literary Agency together with the Writers’ Weekend will announce the name of the awardee unless they request to remain anonymous (please state this clearly on your submission email if this is the case).
• Any changes to the Terms & Conditions will be posted on the Lindsay Literary Agency’s website.

Submissions not in compliance with the rules will be disqualified.

Please send all entries and enquiries to scholarship@lindsayliteraryagency.co.uk