Win! The Marie Claire Debut Novel Award

This month we're launching a competition to inspire all you budding writers. Enter and win a £5,000 advance, work with your own editor and get your novel published.

This month we're launching a competition to inspire all you budding writers. Enter and win a £5,000 advance, work with your own editor and get your novel published.

With a heritage stretching back nearly 200 years, HarperCollins is one of the world’s foremost English-language publishers, offering the best-quality content right across the spectrum, from enduring classics to cutting-edge contemporary fiction; from Nobel prize-winners to worldwide bestsellers; from digital dictionaries to online curricula; and pretty much everything in between.

TO ENTER To enter Marie Claire's Debut Novel Award, you will need to complete the first 6,000 words of your original novel. Alongside this you will need to submit an outline, no longer than 2 sides of A4, to show how the story will develop and conclude. There are no restrictions as to the storyline, but the genre must be contemporary women’s fiction (defined as contemporary storytelling, with a focus on a female lead character, set primarily in the present day). • Entries must be submitted as a typed word document (.doc /.docx), double-spaced, with page numbers. • Please include name/title on a running header or footer. • Entries should be accompanied by an entry form which can be downloaded HERE or please email marieclairenovel@harpercollins.co.uk for a word document.

Please email your entry to marieclairenovel@harpercollins.co.uk

Terms and Conditions apply and can be found HERE.

THE DEADLINE All entries must be received by 11.59pm on 31 July 2013. The winner will be announced in the December issue of Marie Claire.

THE JUDGES The entries will be judged by an expert panel, who will be looking for original storytelling that excites and inspires them. The panel includes: Cecelia Ahern, Sunday Times number one bestselling author of nine novels. Cecelia Ahern is a household name across the world. She was catapulted to the spotlight with her hit debut novel, PS I Love You which was adapted into a major movie. Her subsequent nine novels have captured the hearts of readers in over 46 countries – her books have an addictive, escapist quality that have won her an incredibly loyal fan base. She is currently working on her tenth novel.

Miranda McMinn, associate editor, Marie Claire

Kimberley Young, publishing director, HarperFiction at HarperCollins Publishers Kimberley Young is publishing director of Women’s Fiction at HarperCollins. Kim has over ten years of experience in editing commercial women’s fiction and has published a wide range of authors, from Sunday Times bestsellers to launching new digital imprint HarperImpulse this year.

Juliet Mushens, literary agent, The Agency Group Juliet Mushens is an agent in the UK literary division of The Agency Group. She began her career at a major publishing house in 2008 before moving to PFD as an assistant, where she was promoted to agent in 2010. She represents a list of bestselling debut fiction and non-fiction writers. She was picked as a Bookseller Rising Star in 2012 and was shortlisted for the Kim Scott Walwyn Women in Publishing prize in 2013.

Please email any questions to marieclairenovel@harpercollins.co.uk