The Irish Writers’ Centre International Debut Novel Competition is open for submissions.

Submission Guidelines

• The Irish Writers Centre International Debut Novel Competition is an annual literary competition that awards twelve unpublished novelists with the opportunity to pitch their novels to leading publishers and literary agents.
• Applicants are required to submit a 5,000-word extract of their novel and a 500-word synopsis.

Entry fee:

• The entry fee for applications is €65.
• Irish Writers Centre members’ fee is €58.50.

Judges: An international panel of judges will review all the submissions anonymously between mid-September and early November.

Prize: During two Pitch Days (4 & 5 December 2025), the 12 winners are given the opportunity to pitch their novels face-to-face or Zoom-to-Zoom to publishers and agents.

Deadline: Sunday 14 September at 11.59 pm.

All details, all submissions via their website.