Spread the Word Life Writing Prize 2019

Free to enter, the Spread the Word Life Writing Prize run in association with Goldsmiths Writers’ Centre, aims to find the best life writing from emerging writers from across the UK. The Prize defines life writing as ‘intended to be true’, reflects someone’s own life journey or experiences and is not fiction.

The 2019 Life Writing Prize winner will receive £1,500, publication on Spread the Word’s website, an Arvon course, two years’ membership to the Royal Society of Literature and a development meeting with an editor and an agent. Two highly commended entries will each receive £500 and two mentoring sessions, a development meeting with an editor and an agent, and be published on the Spread the Word website. Three writers will be shortlisted, and six will be longlisted.

The judges for the 2019 Prize are: author and historian Colin Grant, poet and playwright Inua Ellams and novelist and academic Ros Barber.

Open to emerging writers living in the UK aged 18 or over, the Prize was established to celebrate and develop life writing in the UK thanks to a generous donation from Joanna Munro. 

The winner of the 2019 Life Writing Prize will be announced at the Prize ceremony taking place at Goldsmiths, University of London on Thursday 16 May 2019.

The 2017 Prize was won by Jon Paul Roberts for 1955-2012 and the 2018 Prize by Danny Brunton for New Boy.

The Prize opens for entry from Monday 5 November 2018 at midday. The closing date for entries is 11.59pm on Friday 1 February 2019.

Find out more here: 

spreadtheword.org.uk/projects/life-writing-prize