Other » FAQs


Q. I currently reside abroad, but am a UK national, am I eligible for the Undiscovered Authors competition?

A. Yes you are eligible for the competition, we will accept entries from UK and Irish nationals and residents, however you must provide a British or Irish address/location to enable us to allocate your entry to the correct region. Please note unfortunately this competition is not open for International entries.

Q. A couple of years ago, I had a short story published in an anthology, should I enter into the General Fiction category or the Previously Published category?

A. You are eligible to enter in the general fiction category. We term published as having an ISBN in your own name. Therefore we will allow entries from writers who have contributed to anthologies, magazines, articles etc to enter in this category as the ISBN was not in their own name - we will also accept entries from people who have self-published their work in this category.

Q. I have recently self-published a novel, could I enter it into your competition?

A. Yes as a self-published author you would be eligible to enter your work into our main General Fiction category – as you have self-published and never before benefited from a publishing deal, this category would be more appropriate to you than our Previously Published category.

Q. I have come to the end of a 5 book deal with a big publisher, the contract has not been renewed, could I enter my new unpublished novel into your competition?

A. Yes the published Author category is designed for authors like you – as long as the work you wish to enter has not been previously published, we would welcome your entry.

Q. I have a book of poetry I wish to enter into your competition, however it falls below the word minimums you have suggested for your competition, is there any way I can still enter?

A. Candidates who are unsure whether they fully meet the competitions requirements should email exceptionalentries@undiscoveredauthors.co.uk explaining their position; the competition organisers will look this and confirm whether or not they will be happy to receive your entry.

Q. I registered for the competition yesterday and have not received a registration code, should I re-register?

A. Your registration code should bounce straight back to you, however there have been previously been problems with people typing in incorrect email addresses and therefore the bounce-back fails to work. If you have still not received a registration code 24 hours after registration, please email exceptionalentries@undiscoveredauthors.co.uk, stating your name, email address you registered with and date of registration, we will then respond with a registration code. Please do not re-register, as although you may not have received a code, you will have multiple entries our end.

Q. If I enter your competition will I lose any rights to my work?

A. At entry all entrants retain all rights to their work. If however you were to win the Undiscovered Authors competition and were offered a publishing deal, then you as the author would retain intellectual rights to the work and BookForce would hold the publishing rights - these rights would only be for the winning piece of work, not for any other pieces of work, nor you as author. On entering the competition, BookForce have no rights to your work - this would only change if you were announced winner and were happy to sign a contract with BookForce.

Q. Are BookForce vanity publishers?

A. BookForce are not vanity publishers. Along with their traditional publishing services, BookForce offer a self-publishing arm, but differ from other self-publishers, in that they offer self-published authors a route to market through the Discovered Authors Catalogue, whereby authors books are detailed and distributed via the internet. They are also listed on Amazon and with the major UK wholesalers and marketed both nationally and internationally. Prize winners will be offered a traditional publishing contract, not a self-publishing contract.

Q. My synopsis is over the word limit, if I submit over the limit will I be disqualified?

A. You will not be disqualified, however you work will be cut according to the word limits before being sent forward for judging.

Q. Should my submission be single or double spaced?

A. This is entirely up to you, you may present your work how you wish – the same applies for formatting of text.

Q. Will you accept poetry/children’s stories as entry into your competition?

A. Yes to both, we will accept anything that falls under the categories of General Fiction, Non-Fiction or Academic.

Q. Can I enter with a short story?

A. Yes a collection of short stories will be accepted, as long as the completed work falls within the word limits set for the competition.

Q. I am currently working on two books, can I enter them both?

A. You can enter the competition as many times as you like, as long as you register for each entry separately - each submission must contain a separate registration code.

Q. I have access to the internet, but am not very good with computers, is it ok to send you a typed manuscript?

A. Undiscovered Authors is an on-line competition, entries must be submitted electronically. Under exceptional circumstances, we will accept submissions on CD or as a printed hard copy, however permission must be sought - candidates should address their request to exceptionalentries@undiscoveredauthors.co.uk explaining why they are unable to convert their potential entry in standard, emailed Word files. Any entries sent without prior permission will not be put forward for judging. Unfortunately we are unable to return any postal submissions, unless they are sent with a SAE.

Q. If I were to win the competition, would I be entitled to royalties?

A. Yes all our authors are entitled to royalties on all sales of their book.

Q. If I were to win the competition, would I have to accept the publishing contract?

A. Yes you would, a publishing contract is part of the prize for regional and national winners; awarding of the cash prize is conditional on the signing of publishing contract.