Please send three chapters only of a historical fiction work (up to 1974), which should be a minimum of 1,500 words and a maximum of 15,000 words. Chapters come in all shapes and sizes. There is no ‘right’ length for a chapter. One aspect the judges will be looking for is how well-crafted the chapters are. Knowing what makes a good chapter is part of your job as a writer. If you decide to include a prologue this counts as one chapter.
Entries should be accompanied by a synopsis (maximum 800 words). Please upload your chapters and synopsis as one file (not two). Please use your novel title as the file name. Files should be doc, docx or pdf.
Your entry will be judged anonymously, so do not put your name on the pages of the entry. Your name should only appear on the entry form.
Please submit your work typed and double-spaced in Word, Times New Roman, 12 pt, with pages numbered.
Entries should be accompanied by the entry fee of £30 (HNS members) or £40 (non-members). Find out how to become a member here.
Ensure that you have selected the category you are entering on the form.
The closing date for the competition was 23.59 GMT 15 February 2024.
No alterations may be made to your entry once it has been submitted.
Your entry will not be returned.
You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt.
Copyright of any entry remains with the author.
All entrants will be notified of the outcome of their entry via email.
Entries should be ‘historical’ – the main setting is not in the last fifty years (unless part of a historical timeslip). Historical is defined as at least fifty years before the present.
A novel is defined as being at least 80,000 words or 40,000 for a children’s historical fiction story.
Entries should be in English and should not have been published or accepted for publication in print or online. This includes traditional publication, self-publishing, and digital publication.
Entries should be fiction.
Entries should be within the minimum and maximum wordcount.
Entries should be accompanied by a synopsis (maximum 800 words).
You may be a published author with another work.
Entries should not be a translation of another author’s work.
Entries will be accepted from anywhere in the world.
One entry per person.
All categories are open to diverse cultures, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, identities.
Co-authors are welcome.
HNS Competition assessors may enter the competition, but not in the category they are assessing.
Entrants should be 18 and over.
If your submission was placed in a contest held by the Historical Novel Society, congratulations! It should not be entered in this contest / into a second contest run by the HNS and its branches. If your submission has previously been placed in another competition, unrelated to the HNS, please submit away.
Entries should not be solely or substantially AI-generated. AI-generated is defined as AI-generated content created by an AI-based tool, even if you applied substantial edits afterwards. AI-assisted work is acceptable. AI-assisted is defined as content you created yourself, and used AI-based tools to edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve that content, or if you used an AI-based tool to brainstorm and generate ideas, but ultimately created the text yourself.
Not following the eligibility rules or paying the entry fee will disqualify the entry.
Your entry will not be considered if the entry fee has not been paid.
HNS reserves the right to disqualify an entry.
FAQs
PROLOGUES
Question: Are PROLOGUES allowed as part of the submission?
Answer: You can submit a PROLOGUE with your entry, but it would count as your First of the Three Chapters. Do not send a PROLOGUE in addition to your Three Chapters.
CONFERENCE
Question: Do you have to ATTEND the conference to be eligible for the competition?
Answer: No, you do not have to attend the conference to be eligible for the competition. We will offer free conference tickets to the category winners, but if you cannot attend in person and are a category winner, we can swap that for an online ticket.
Question: ARE TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION included with the conference ticket?
Answer: No, they are not included.
ENTRY
Question: Will the competition remain open until 23.59 GMT 15 February 2024, irrespective of the number of entries? In other words, is there an ENTRY CAP / limited number of entries?
Answer: No, there is no cap on entries.
Question: Can I submit MULTIPLE ENTRIES?
Answer: No, the contest is one entry per person.
Question: Is there an AGE RESTRICTION for the competition?
Answer: Yes, entrants must be 18 years of age or older. We hope to run a competition for young historical fiction writers in the future.
UNPUBLISHED
Question: Is the contest for UNPUBLISHED manuscripts only? Can a manuscript be submitted that will be published sometime during the judging?
Answer: The 2024 First Chapters Competition is for UNPUBLISHED manuscripts only. Chapters should not be previously published in any form and the manuscript should not be under contract for publication.
Question: If your novel was SELF-PUBLISHED, could you still submit it since it wasn’t traditionally published?
Answer: This contest is for UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS ONLY. Anything previously published is ineligible. This includes self-publishing and the various forms of digital publication that put a work in the public domain.
Question: If a previously published novel has been pulled and EDITED, can it be submitted for this contest?
Answer: No, it cannot. If a novel has been previously published, it does not fit the criteria for this contest.
Question: Is this contest only for previously unpublished writers?
Answer: No, this contest is open to both published and unpublished writers. It is the submission itself that cannot have been previously published.
PREVIOUS COMPETITION ENTRIES/WINNERS
Question: If the submission placed in another contest held by the Historical Novel Society (or any of its branches), can it be submitted to the First Chapters Competition?
Answer: If your submission placed in a contest held by the Historical Novel Society, congratulations! It should not be entered in this contest / into a second contest by the HNS and its branches.
Question: If your submission placed in a contest that is NOT held by the Historical Novel Society, can it be submitted to the First Chapters Competition?
Answer: If your submission placed in a contest NOT held by the Historical Novel Society, congratulations! Submit away.
Question: What does PLACED mean?
Answer: By placed, we consider that to mean was a “Finalist”, “Top Three” or “Category Winner” or “Overall Winner”, not a “Short List”.
COMPETITION FREQUENCY
Question: Will this be a yearly competition?
Answer: We hope so but we can’t say for sure yet. The Historical Novel Society is a not-for-profit organisation. Its activities (magazine, conferences, competition) are funded by membership fees. It has no paid employees and its events are organised by volunteers. We are looking for a sponsor for the next competitions.
WORD COUNT vs CHAPTER COUNT
Question: My first three chapters are over the word limit / 15,000 words. Can I just submit the entire first three chapters?
Answer: No, the word limit is 15,000 words. You should choose a sentence / paragraph before that limit is reached and end there.
Question: My first three chapters are under the word limit / 15,000 words. Can I submit more than the first three chapters?
Answer: No, the contest is limited to the first three chapters of a novel.
Question: How do the word count and chapter count relate to each other?
Answer: Chapters come in all shapes and sizes. There is no ‘right’ length for a chapter. One of the aspects the judges will be looking for is how well crafted the chapters are. Why do they contain what they do, end where they do, contribute to the creation of suspense, pace and so on? Knowing what makes a good chapter is part of your job as a writer.
FINISHED NOVEL
Question: Does the whole novel have to be finished?
Answer: No, the chapters can be from a work in progress, but you need to submit an 800-word synopsis with your three chapters, so you need to know where the novel is going and what it looks like overall.
CATEGORIES
Question: Which category should I enter in?
Answer: Which category is a judgement call by the author. Knowing what genre you are writing in and who your market might be is part of your job as a writer. The categories are self-explanatory:
Historical Fiction Ancient to 16th century – the main setting takes place during ancient times through to the 16th century.
Historical Fiction 17th to 19th centuries – the main setting takes place 17th to 19th centuries.
Historical Fiction 20th century – the main setting takes place during the 20th century (and at least 50 years from the present).
Historical Romance – a historical setting where the developing romantic relationship is a main focus.
Historical Crime – a historical setting where a criminal act, murder, mystery or a like event is a main focus.
Biographical Historical Fiction – a fictional account of a historical person’s life.
Historical Adventure – a historical setting where an event or series of events, usually accompanied by danger or physical action, and a fast-paced plot, is a leading driver for the story.
Historical Fantasy, Timeslip, and Alternate History – a historical setting where fantastical elements are introduced and are a focus of the story, or there is a mix of parallel historical and contemporary stories, or a what if version of history.
Historical Children’s or Young Adult – historical fiction where the target audience is children or young adults.
It is possible that the genre categories (e.g., adventure, crime) will receive fewer entries than the general time period categories, but we can’t say that for certain.
OTHER COMPETITIONS
Romantic Novels Award 2024
For books published in 2023
Deadline: opens on 5 June and closes on 30 September 2024.
Information: https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/awards/
And you can find some helpful competition listings here:
Christopher Fielden
https://www.christopherfielden.com/#Competitions
The Novelry
https://www.thenovelry.com/genres/writing-historical-fiction#intro
The Novelry lists competitions and has a Historical Fiction department, running workshops and a private group for Historical Fiction authors.
The Historical Novel Society UK 2024 conference 