1. This Competition is being organised by Hachette UK Limited (the ‘Publisher’), Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ.

 

2. 2. The prize for this Competition is the opportunity for ten (10) entrants (the ‘Winners’) to attend the ‘Grow Your Story’ writers programme, which will provide a series of free, online workshops and mentorship for writers of colour (the “Programme”). The Programme will commence on or around 19^th January 2026 with workshops and mentoring to commence on 2nd March 2026 (the ‘Prize’). The Publisher will provide Winners with further details of dates within 30 days of announcing the Winners. The workshops and mentoring sessions will take place online. Winners will be expected to make themselves available for the workshops as the dates for these will be fixed. Dates for the mentoring sessions will be agreed between each Winner and their mentor.

 

3. 3. The Prize will be awarded to the writers who submit the best Proposals (as defined below in Clause 6), judged against the Judging Criteria (as described in Clause 4 below), and who meet the Entry Criteria (as described in Clause 5 below).

 

4. 4. Each entry will be judged on how well it fits the following criteria (the ‘Judging Criteria’):

 

• – The novel from which the extract is taken must fit within the romance genre.
• – Strength of the idea, development of plot and characters and quality of execution in the writing.
• – The appeal of the novel plot/extract to the audience it is intended for.
• – The story must have a strong hook, theme or plot and must be written in an accessible writing style which the general reader will understand.
•  

5. 5. In order to be eligible for the Competition, entrants must meet the following criteria (the ‘Entry Criteria’). Entrants must be aged 18 or over, be from a Black, Asian or mixed heritage background, and be resident in the United Kingdom. Entrants must not have an agent and must be previously unpublished (that is, they must not have had any book previously published by a publisher in any format or be under a contract to have their work published). The Competition is not open to employees of the Publisher or David Higham Associates, their families, or to anyone professionally connected to the Competition or connected to the judges either themselves or through their families.

 

6. 6. Entrants to the Competition are required to submit a proposal for a book that meets the Judging Criteria and consists of (i) a sample extract of up to three-thousand (3,000) words from an original English-language manuscript for a romance novel written by you, (ii) a short synopsis of up to five hundred (500) words of the full plot of the book and (iii) an overview of who the target audience for the book would be of up to one hundred (100) words (together the ‘Proposal’). The Proposal must be in English and must be in a legible font and font size.

 

7. 7. Proposals must be submitted via the Competition landing page: https://www.thefuturebookshelf.co.uk/landing-page/grow-your-story-x-hachette-thrive-2025/ . Entries may only be submitted between 12:01am BST on 28 August 2025 and 11.59pm BST on 1 October 2025. Any entries received outside these specified times and dates and any entries that do not meet the requirements of these Terms and Conditions will not be eligible for entry to the Competition.

 

8. 8. A shortlist of up to thirty Proposals (the ‘Shortlisted Proposals’) will be chosen from entries received in accordance with these Terms and Conditions by selected members of the Publisher’s editorial teams and will be notified by the Publisher by email. The Shortlisted Proposals will be submitted to a panel of judges comprising the following: (i) Sanah Ahmed, Commissioning Editor, Orion Fiction; (ii) Maddalena Cavaciuti, Literary Agent, David Higham Associates; (iii) Stephanie Yeboah, Author; (iv) Mike Gayle, Author (the ‘Judges’). The  Judges will choose the ten Winners from the Shortlisted Proposals. In the event of a tie between the Judges, Stephanie Yeboah will have the casting vote. The winning entries will be the ones that best meet the Judging Criteria. The Judges’ decision for the selection of the Winners is final.

 

9. 9. If no or insufficient suitable entries that meet the Judging Criteria set out above can be found, the Publisher reserves the right to (i) not select any Winners and/or (ii) select fewer Winners.

 

10. 10. By submitting their Proposal the entrant undertakes and warrants that the Proposal consists of their own original work and will not infringe the intellectual property rights of anyone. If a third party’s material is used, such as lyrics of a song, the entrant will secure the necessary permission and will provide it to the Publisher on request. The entrant further warrants that the Proposal does not contain any material which is defamatory, private or confidential or which is unlawful in any way. Any entry in breach of this Clause will be disqualified from being considered for the Competition at any stage.

 

11. 11. The name of the Winners will be announced by 20 November 2025. The Winners will be informed in advance by email. The names of the Winners may be published on any of the Publisher’s websites, including the Future Bookshelf site, and may also be publicised in other media including on social media sites.

 

12. 12. An entrant may only submit one entry. Further entries will be disqualified. Entries will not be accepted via agents, third parties or in bulk.

 

13. 13. The Publisher is not responsible for contacting or responding to entrants who provide unclear or incomplete information or for entries that are lost, misdirected, delayed or destroyed.

 

14. 14. Entries will not be returned so please ensure you have a copy of your submission for your own records.

 

15. 15. The Publisher reserves the right to (i) cancel the Competition; (ii) alter the details of the Prize or judging panels and/or (iii) alter any other details of the Competition without notice but the Publisher will try to avoid creating any undue disappointment. No cash alternative or other alternatives to the Prize will be provided.

 

16. 16. Winners shall comply with any reasonable instructions from the Publisher in relation to their conduct during the Programme. For the avoidance of doubt, the Publisher shall not be obliged to enter into any form of commercial relationship with Winners who participate in the Programme, including offering Winners a contract for publication of their book. Winners who participate in the Programme will not be required to enter into an exclusive arrangement with the Publisher as a pre-condition to their participation in the Programme.

 

17. 17. Any personal data submitted by entrants, including their names and email addresses (the ‘Information’), will be used by the Publisher (who is the Data Controller) for the purposes of this Competition, including without limitation for the purpose of judging the entries and arranging the Prize, in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and in accordance with Publisher’s Privacy Notice which can be found here https://www.hachette.co.uk/landing-page/privacy-notice-general-huk/ . The Information will be deleted within six months of the announcement of the Winners.

 

18. 18. No purchase is necessary to enter the Competition.

 

19. 19. By entering the Competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

 

20. 20. These Terms and Conditions and any disputes or claims (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of these Terms and Conditions shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England, whose courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

 

1. This Competition is being organised by Hachette UK Limited (the ‘Publisher’), Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ.

 

2. 2. The prize for this Competition is the opportunity for ten (10) entrants (the ‘Winners’) to attend the ‘Grow Your Story’ writers programme, which will provide a series of free, online workshops and mentorship for writers of colour (the “Programme”). The Programme will commence on or around 19^th January 2026 with workshops and mentoring to commence on 2nd March 2026 (the ‘Prize’). The Publisher will provide Winners with further details of dates within 30 days of announcing the Winners. The workshops and mentoring sessions will take place online. Winners will be expected to make themselves available for the workshops as the dates for these will be fixed. Dates for the mentoring sessions will be agreed between each Winner and their mentor.

 

3. 3. The Prize will be awarded to the writers who submit the best Proposals (as defined below in Clause 6), judged against the Judging Criteria (as described in Clause 4 below), and who meet the Entry Criteria (as described in Clause 5 below).

 

4. 4. Each entry will be judged on how well it fits the following criteria (the ‘Judging Criteria’):

 

• – The novel from which the extract is taken must fit within the romance genre.
• – Strength of the idea, development of plot and characters and quality of execution in the writing.
• – The appeal of the novel plot/extract to the audience it is intended for.
• – The story must have a strong hook, theme or plot and must be written in an accessible writing style which the general reader will understand.
•  

5. 5. In order to be eligible for the Competition, entrants must meet the following criteria (the ‘Entry Criteria’). Entrants must be aged 18 or over, be from a Black, Asian or mixed heritage background, and be resident in the United Kingdom. Entrants must not have an agent and must be previously unpublished (that is, they must not have had any book previously published by a publisher in any format or be under a contract to have their work published). The Competition is not open to employees of the Publisher or David Higham Associates, their families, or to anyone professionally connected to the Competition or connected to the judges either themselves or through their families.

 

6. 6. Entrants to the Competition are required to submit a proposal for a book that meets the Judging Criteria and consists of (i) a sample extract of up to three-thousand (3,000) words from an original English-language manuscript for a romance novel written by you, (ii) a short synopsis of up to five hundred (500) words of the full plot of the book and (iii) an overview of who the target audience for the book would be of up to one hundred (100) words (together the ‘Proposal’). The Proposal must be in English and must be in a legible font and font size.

 

7. 7. Proposals must be submitted via the Competition landing page: https://www.thefuturebookshelf.co.uk/landing-page/grow-your-story-x-hachette-thrive-2025/ . Entries may only be submitted between 12:01am BST on 28 August 2025 and 11.59pm BST on 1 October 2025. Any entries received outside these specified times and dates and any entries that do not meet the requirements of these Terms and Conditions will not be eligible for entry to the Competition.

 

8. 8. A shortlist of up to thirty Proposals (the ‘Shortlisted Proposals’) will be chosen from entries received in accordance with these Terms and Conditions by selected members of the Publisher’s editorial teams and will be notified by the Publisher by email. The Shortlisted Proposals will be submitted to a panel of judges comprising the following: (i) Sanah Ahmed, Commissioning Editor, Orion Fiction; (ii) Maddalena Cavaciuti, Literary Agent, David Higham Associates; (iii) Stephanie Yeboah, Author; (iv) Mike Gayle, Author (the ‘Judges’). The  Judges will choose the ten Winners from the Shortlisted Proposals. In the event of a tie between the Judges, Stephanie Yeboah will have the casting vote. The winning entries will be the ones that best meet the Judging Criteria. The Judges’ decision for the selection of the Winners is final.

 

9. 9. If no or insufficient suitable entries that meet the Judging Criteria set out above can be found, the Publisher reserves the right to (i) not select any Winners and/or (ii) select fewer Winners.

 

10. 10. By submitting their Proposal the entrant undertakes and warrants that the Proposal consists of their own original work and will not infringe the intellectual property rights of anyone. If a third party’s material is used, such as lyrics of a song, the entrant will secure the necessary permission and will provide it to the Publisher on request. The entrant further warrants that the Proposal does not contain any material which is defamatory, private or confidential or which is unlawful in any way. Any entry in breach of this Clause will be disqualified from being considered for the Competition at any stage.

 

11. 11. The name of the Winners will be announced by 20 November 2025. The Winners will be informed in advance by email. The names of the Winners may be published on any of the Publisher’s websites, including the Future Bookshelf site, and may also be publicised in other media including on social media sites.

 

12. 12. An entrant may only submit one entry. Further entries will be disqualified. Entries will not be accepted via agents, third parties or in bulk.

 

13. 13. The Publisher is not responsible for contacting or responding to entrants who provide unclear or incomplete information or for entries that are lost, misdirected, delayed or destroyed.

 

14. 14. Entries will not be returned so please ensure you have a copy of your submission for your own records.

 

15. 15. The Publisher reserves the right to (i) cancel the Competition; (ii) alter the details of the Prize or judging panels and/or (iii) alter any other details of the Competition without notice but the Publisher will try to avoid creating any undue disappointment. No cash alternative or other alternatives to the Prize will be provided.

 

16. 16. Winners shall comply with any reasonable instructions from the Publisher in relation to their conduct during the Programme. For the avoidance of doubt, the Publisher shall not be obliged to enter into any form of commercial relationship with Winners who participate in the Programme, including offering Winners a contract for publication of their book. Winners who participate in the Programme will not be required to enter into an exclusive arrangement with the Publisher as a pre-condition to their participation in the Programme.

 

17. 17. Any personal data submitted by entrants, including their names and email addresses (the ‘Information’), will be used by the Publisher (who is the Data Controller) for the purposes of this Competition, including without limitation for the purpose of judging the entries and arranging the Prize, in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and in accordance with Publisher’s Privacy Notice which can be found here https://www.hachette.co.uk/landing-page/privacy-notice-general-huk/ . The Information will be deleted within six months of the announcement of the Winners.

 

18. 18. No purchase is necessary to enter the Competition.

 

19. 19. By entering the Competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

 

20. 20. These Terms and Conditions and any disputes or claims (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of these Terms and Conditions shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England, whose courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction.