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The Irish Writer's Centre are open for submissions! Formerly known as 'The Novel Fair', the now revamped International Debut Novel Competition is an opportunity to 'jump the publication slush pile and meet agents and publishers face-to-face or zoom-to-zoom over the course of two days.' Best wishes to Damien Donnelly and team with this year's competition.
I was lucky enough to be one of those writers on the very first year of the competition. There were twenty finalists that year. Basically, it was like speed dating for writers, agents and publishers - all first time novelists, we sat at our tables in the Irish Writers Centre in Parnell Square in Dublin, with freshly printed copies of our opening chapters and our hearts thumping.
I was very unaware of trends or publishing, and had some notion that a true story from small town Ireland might not be of interest (never doubt your own work, it's like rejecting yourself in advance) and actually had to be persuaded to enter. My pages were the opening chapters of The Herbalist, it was the first novel I had written, and was based on a true case in my hometown - a trial I had come across in an old local newspaper. I really didn't know what to expect that day, this was way before twitter - and of course, it was the first competition of its kind in Ireland. The energy and kindness of the staff in the centre was just amazing. thinking about the warm welcome (and hot coffee) makes me smile even now.
Every writer and their unpublished novel had around ten minutes with each agent and publisher, after that a bell rang and off they went, sometimes taking your chapters, sometimes leaving a business card, sometimes leaving you elated, sometimes confused.
I went from having never set foot in the Writer's Centre, to meeting the most high profile agents and publishers in the country over the course of one afternoon. My nerves! Like most writers, I'm a little afraid of the word 'pitch' - so I gave them the gist of my novel (the exciting bits, in the language and mood of the novel) as clearly as possible, and the rest was up to them. That gist wasn't as casual as it sounds, I honed it down to five minutes and practised it over and over.
The buzz in the room that day was amazing, we could hardly hear ourselves. The thing about meeting an industry professional face to face, is you can see immediately what aspects of the novel, even what words, make their eyes light up. It became obvious, that to successfully publish your novel, you were expected to be able to have a conversation about that novel, it's themes and subjects. Mine was about women pushing against the rigid boundaries of 1930s Ireland. About Emily, a girl who wanted an awful lot more than the life mapped out for her. (Emily is also the name of the square in Athy, site of the weekly market where the events unfolded.) For anyone who finds that aspect difficult, it helps to practise talking to other people, or even your phone. Get excited about your book, if you're not - why would anyone else be? My fire came from the fact that "The Herbalist" was one of those stories that was pushed under the carpet, one that would never be told unless I wrote it. As writers, we tend to commit everything to paper, or the laptop, and its not quite the same thing as verbalising it, so when preparing for a pitch day, remember to practice speaking it aloud, to anyone that will listen.
The novel fair took place on a weekend, and an editor from Penguin Ireland came to Athy, Co Kildare (the setting of The Herbalist) that very Monday. Its fair to say it was an exciting time - there was a lot of interest in my book - I had an agent and a publisher within a week, and the novel was published the following summer. It became a bestseller in Ireland. There was an incredible amount of goodwill towards the work, and I'm still incredibly grateful for that reception.
I often think about the fact that I posted that manuscript at the last minute and got my infant son to give it a kiss for good luck before slipping it into the post box. The story in that brown envelope became a novel that was reprinted seven times by Penguin Ireland, then Penguin Random House and is now available worldwide in a beautiful new cover. (For film rights contact Nicola Barr at the Rye Literary Agency! That's another dream :))
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| First draft of The Herbalist written on my kitchen table |
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| 2013 Irish Edition |
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| 2025 International Edition |
So I would highly recommend entering the novel competition, at the very least, it is a deadline - being short or longlisted brings your work to the attention of agents and publishers, regardless of whether it is one of the final winners or not. The publishing world keeps a close eye on the longlist.
After the fair, the Irish Writer's Centre went on to be somewhere I taught, mentored, sat on panels - the team at the Irish Writers Centre are incredibly supportive to their writers. It's a place of good will. Betty Stenson in particular has played a major part in it's growth and popularity over the last decade. She's moved on to new adventures, and I wish her the best of the best.
I realise in retrospect, that I was very lucky with my first book - it often takes much longer to see the winning novel published, and signing with an agent and publisher after one meeting does not happen to everyone. In general, I think the industry moves slower now. There are varying timelines, and outcomes, but being listed or winning this competition is a huge thumbs-up, and often a stepping stone to publication.
The Herbalist went onto be Penguin Ireland's best selling book that year and won Debut of the Year at the Irish Book Awards - kind of magical, for a book written long hand early in the morning and late at night while I juggled young children and work. I still have that "first edition", a battered but beloved notebook. The novel was sparked by a line in an old newspaper, and I still have that too. Along with my sketches of the Herbalist's tattoos.
I have gone on to complete two other novels - also based on true stories, the second was Her Kind, also based on a real trial, but this time a witch trial: the case of Alice Kyteler in Kilkenny. That was published in the UK and Ireland by the lovely people at Penguin. And I published an edition for the US. I just emailed my latest novel (The Writer's House - inspired by a footnote in the Guinness Book of Ghosts and Spirits) off to my brilliant agent Nicola Barr, of the Rye Literary Agency so fingers crossed it will make it's way out into the world soon!
If I had any advise about the novel competition, I would pass on the words said to me all those years ago, 'go on, what have you got to lose?'
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About the Competition
Run by The Irish Writers Centre, its an annual literary competition that awards twelve unpublished novelists with the opportunity to pitch their novels to leading publishers and literary agents. There are two Pitch Days (4 & 5 December 2025) the 12 winners are given the opportunity to skip the queue and pitch their novels face-to-face or zoom-to-zoom to publishers and agents.
'As a first-time novelist it can be difficult to know what an agent or publisher wants and so, in preparation, winners will participate in The Online Prep Day (28 November) where they will learn how to craft the ideal pitch and what to expect from their encounters during our Pitch Days.
submit 5,000 words and a synopsis
In the past, the competition has been attended by representatives from: Curtis Brown, Penguin Random House, Conville & Walsh, époque, Fletcher & Co, Poolbeg Press, Harper Collins, John Murray, Hachette, Lilliput Press, New Island Books, The Book Bureau, The Bent Agency, Greene & Heaton, Storyline Literary Agency and many others.
Deadlines...
Submissions, via Submittable, are open between Friday 1 August and Sunday 14 September at 11.59pm.
12 winners will be notified by The Phone Call on Friday 14 November 2025.
The Online Prep Day will take place on Friday 28 November 2025.
The Pitch Days will take place on Thursday 4 December November and Friday 5 December 2025, a two-day hybrid event where the 12 International Debut Novel Competition winners will be given the opportunity to pitch their debut novels to national and international publishers and literary agents.
- Niamh Boyce, The Herbalist (Penguin Ireland, 2013)
- Janet E Cameron, Cinnamon Toast at the End of the World (Hachette, 2013)
- Kevin Curran, Beatsploitation (Liberties Press, 2013)
- Alan Timmons, Here in No Place (New Island, 2013)
- Susan Lannigan, White Feathers, (O’Brien Press, 2014)
- Daniel Seery, A Model Partner (Liberties Press, 2014)
- Andrea Carter, Death at Whitewater Church (Constable, 2015)
- Catriona Lally, Eggshells (Liberties Press, 2015)
- Faith Hogan, My Husband’s Wives (Aria, 2016)
- Orla McAlinden, The Accidental Wife (Sowilo Press, 2016)
- Rachel Kelly, The Edge of Heaven (NewCon Press, 2017)
- RM Clarke, The Glass Door (Dalzell Press, 2018)
- Breda Joy, Eat the Moon (Poolbeg Press, 2018)
- Marion Reynolds, A Soldiers Wife, (Poolbeg Press, 2018)
- Kealan Ryan, The Middle Place (Mercier Press, 2019)
- David Brennan, Upperdown (époque press, 2019)
- Michelle Gallen, Big Girl, Small Town (Algonquin, 2020)
- Eoin Lane, Beyond the Horizon (Blackstone Publishing, 2020)
- Marianne Lee, A Quiet Tide (New Island, 2020)
- Alice Lyons, Oona (Lilliput, 2020)
- Gráinne Murphy, Where the Edge Is (Legend Press, 2020)
- Sue Divin, Guard Your Heart (Macmillan, 2021)
- Fidelma Kelly, Because He Loved Her (Poolbeg Press, 2022)
- Laura McKenna, Words to Shape My Name (New Island, 2021)
- Neil Sharpson, When the Sparrow Falls (Macmillan, 2021)
- Olivia Fitzsimons, The Quiet Whispers Never Stop (John Murray Press, 2022)
- Aingeala Flannery, The Amusements (Sandycove, 2022)
- Bryan Moriarty, Sounds Like Fun (Hodder, 2023)
- Declan Toohey, Perpetual Comedown (New Island, 2023)
- Lauren Mackenzie, The Couples (Hachette, 2023)
- Orla Mackey, Mouthing (Hamish Hamilton, 2024)
- Estelle Birdy, Ravelling (Lilliput, 2024)
- Alison Langley, Ilona Gets a Phone (Dedalus 2024)
- Miki Lentin, Winter Sun (Afsana, 2024)
- Anne Hamilton, The Almost Truth (Legend Times, 2024)
- Hesse Phillips, Lightborne (Atlantic Books, 2024)
- Rachel Blackmore, Constanza (Renegade Books) August 2024
To find out more....
https://irishwriterscentre.ie/international-debut-novel-competition/
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