Agora Books and Peters Fraser + Dunlop are launching a writers’ community targeting aspiring commercial fiction authors across all genres. Named Lost the Plot, the community will provide straight-forward advice and support on writing, finding representation, and navigating the publishing process while connecting like-minded writers.
It’s a safe-space for writers to seek out guidance and inspiration when they’re in a rut or ask questions that no one’s been able to give them an honest answer to before.
To celebrate, Agora Books and PFD are launching a new prize specifically focusing on works in progress. The aim is to get books out of a drawer and into the world, to encourage writers to stop procrastinating in pursuit of perfection and get feedback sooner.
The Lost the Plot Work in Progress Prize will be open for entries from July 1st to the 31st. Entrants are encouraged to submit the first three chapters of a work in progress. After being read by a panel of judges — including Agora Books publisher Kate Evans, PFD agent Marilia Savvides, bestselling author Laura Pearson, and book blogger Amanda Chatterton — one writer will win mentorship and manuscript feedback, with both a Peters Fraser + Dunlop agent and an Agora Books editor. Two runners up will also receive manuscript feedback, and the top five entrants will be sent a writers’ survival kit to keep them afloat while in the thick of their writing.
Full details for entry can be found here: https://www.agorabooks.co/lost-the-plot-work-in-progress-prize
Publisher Kate Evans said: ‘Agora Books is all about creating more opportunities for more writers. We work with so many authors who’ve been writing in private for years but, for any number of reasons, keep putting it on the back burner. We know how lonely a process it can be and want to remove the fear, demystify the process, and ensure that writers who have a story to tell can find a path to publication.’
CEO of PFD Caroline Michel said: ‘At PFD we work with writers from the very start of their career and watch them grow and develop. We are so excited about the Lost the Plot writers’ group initiative as a way to connect with aspiring authors from varying backgrounds and look at new ways for talented writers to be published.’
Author Laura Pearson said: ‘I’m so excited to be a part of this. I was stuck in the writing wilderness for years, with work that wasn’t quite ready to get me an agent, and no idea how to move forward, and I would have benefited enormously from a space and a competition like this. I know there is a huge amount of untapped talent out there, and I look forward to helping to find it.’
