Tag: Sonia Hope

Novel Studio 2022/3 Literary Agent Competition Winners Announced

We are delighted to announce the winners of 2022/3’s Novel Studio Literary Agent Competition are Sonia Hope, Marc-Anthony Hurr and Charles Williams.

The competition is a key feature of City’s flagship short course the Novel Studio, which offers a select group of 15 aspiring novelists the dedicated time and support to hone their craft. The competition is a rare opportunity to bypass the slush pile of manuscript submissions to literary agents, and is run this year in  conjunction with Lucy Luck, literary agent at C&W Agency.

Sonia Hope’s stories have appeared in magazines, including Ambit and Ellipsis Zine, and in anthologies: Best British Short Stories 2020, and The Untangling: Jerwood/Arvon Anthology Volume Nine. She was a Jerwood/Arvon mentee (fiction) for 2019/20 and shortlisted for The Guardian 4th Estate Prize 2019. In 2022 she was the recipient of the Novel Studio scholarship. Sonia is an Art Librarian working on her first novel, The Archivist.

Born in New Zealand to a British father and French mother, Marc-Anthony Hurr has dedicated his professional career to assembling from scratch a large international financial services startup in white knuckle fashion. He was shortlisted in December 2022 by Liar’s League, and in May 2023 won their Heroes & Villains competition. Marc is developing his debut novel, The Millennials.

Charles Williams has been a professional writer for twenty years, covering every topic under the sun, from policing and international aid to body image and mental health. He’s published obituaries in The Times, written and directed a play about world mythology at the Edinburgh Fringe, and contributed a story to a Doctor Who audiobook. He lives in south London.

Emily Pedder, Course Director of the Novel Studio said: “The three winners are all writers with strong, distinctive voices and we’re incredibly excited to see how their writing careers progress from here.”

Alumna Hannah Begbie, an early winner of the agent competition, published award-winning novels Mother and Blurred Lines following her graduation, and fellow winner Louise Beere was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize.

The Novel Studio was established over a decade ago and has a very strong track record of published alumni. Recent bestselling and award-winning novels include Deepa Anappara’s Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, Anna Mazzola’s  The Unseeing, The Story Keeper, The Clockwork Girl,  and The House of Whispers, and Harriet Tyce’s Blood Orange, The Lies You Told and It Ends At Midnight.

Sonia Hope

Marc-Anthony Hurr

Charles Williams

 

The Book Edit to sponsor £1000 Novel Studio Scholarship

Growing Concerns

We are delighted to announce that from October 2023 The Book Edit will be sponsoring a Novel Studio scholarship worth £1000.

Launched in 2004, City’s year-long Novel Studio programme provides essential techniques and guidance to enable its students to draft their own novels, and gain interest from an agent. With a strong publication track record, the course is a highly respected and competitive programme with a reputation for nurturing talent.

However, the financial burden of tuition fees can be a significant barrier for many talented writers from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Since 2019, a scholarship for a student from a low-income household has been generously supported by Sunday Times bestselling author and alumna Harriet Tyce. (Former winners have included the writers Lola OkolosieJanice Okoh, and Maua Hawa. This year’s recipient is Sonia Hope.)

For 2023’s cohort, The Book Edit will be sponsoring a £1000 scholarship for one talented writer from a low-income household to be used towards the total course fees.

Founded by Novel Studio Director Emily Pedder, The Book Edit is an editorial consultancy committed to supporting under-represented writers. Since its inception in 2021, their annual Writers’ Prize initiative has launched the careers of several novelists. Speaking of their involvement with City’s Novel Studio scholarship, Emily has said ‘We are delighted to be partnering with City on this important project and look forward to seeing the literary talent that emerges.’

The Book Edit’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and empowering underrepresented voices aligns with City’s aims to create a culture in which diversity and equality of opportunity are actively promoted, and helps support the university’s vision for creating a more diverse literary landscape.

For prospective students interested in applying for the Novel Studio Scholarship, please visit our website for detailed information on the application process and eligibility criteria. The deadline for the scholarship is 31 August.

If you have any questions about the scholarship, please email the course director Emily Pedder on Emily.Pedder.1@city.ac.uk.

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