1. This Competition is being organised by Robinson, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group Limited (the ‘Publisher’), Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ.
2. The prize for this Competition is the opportunity for one person (the ‘Winner’) to enter into a publishing contract (the ‘Contract’) with the Publisher to have a book published by the Publisher (the ‘Prize’) under the Robinson imprint. The Contract will include an Advance payment (as defined in Clause 10 below).
3. The Prize will be awarded to the writer who submits the best Proposal (as defined below in Clause 6) for an original English-language commercial non-fiction psychology book, judged against the Judging Criteria (as described in Clause 4 below), and who meets the Entry Criteria (as described in Clause 5 below).
4. Each entry will be judged on how well it fits the following criteria (the ‘Judging Criteria’). The Judging Criteria are as follows:
· The proposal must be for a work of commercial (aimed at general readers) non-fiction on any topic within any branch of psychology.
· The proposal will be judged on (i) the originality of the thesis or concept, (ii) the logic and credibility of the argument, (iii) the rigour of the research, (iv) the clarity and accessibility of the writing, (v) the relevance of the topic to general and/or non-academic readers, and (vi) the usefulness of the advice.
5. In order to be eligible for the Competition, entrants must meet the following criteria (the ‘Entry Criteria’). This Competition is only open to those who (a) identify with underrepresented groups, including but not limited to people of Black, Asian, Mixed Heritage and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, as well as those who are disabled, gender diverse, part of the LGBTQIA+ community or from cultural or religious minorities; and (b) are expert in the field of psychology, holding one or more of the following degrees or accreditations: BABCP-accreditation as a cognitive behavioural therapist; BPS-accredited MSc in psychology or an applied subdiscipline of psychology; or BPS-accredited PhD in psychology or an applied subdiscipline of psychology. Entrants must be aged 18 or over, resident in the United Kingdom and must not have an agent at the time of entering the Competition or have had any book previously published by a publisher or self-published in whole or in part in any format or be under a contract to have their work published. The Competition is not open to employees of the Publisher, of Graham Maw Christie, or of Coombs Moylett Maclean, their families, or to anyone professionally connected to the Competition or connected to the judges either themselves or through their families.
6. Entrants to the Competition are required to submit a proposal for a book that meets the Judging Criteria and consists of (i) a brief description and overview of the proposed book (not to exceed 500 words), (ii) a detailed chapter outline (2-3 paragraphs per chapter), and (iii) a full sample chapter (between 4000 and 5000 words) (together the ‘Proposal’). The Proposal must be in English and must be in a legible font and font size.
7. Proposals must be submitted via the Competition landing page here. Entries may only be submitted between 12:01am BST on 24th April 2026 and 11.59pm BST on 31st July 2026. 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. Each entry will be judged on how well it fits the Judging Criteria. A shortlist of up to 10 (ten) of the best Proposals (the ‘Shortlisted Entrants’) will be chosen from entries received by the Publisher in accordance with these Terms and Conditions by 31st August 2026. The Shortlisted Entrants will be chosen by a selection of the Publisher’s Editorial team (the ‘Shortlist Judges’).
9. The Winner will be chosen from the Shortlisted Entrants by a panel of judges comprising the following: Daksha Hirani (winner of the 2024 New Voices Award), psychologist Kate Russell, literary agent Amandeep Singh (Graham Maw Christie), literary agent Lisa Moylett (Coombs Moylett Maclean), the co-chair of Hachette UK’s THRIVE network Valentia Adarkwa-Afari, Little, Brown Head of Marketing Aimee Kitson, and Robinson Editorial Director Andrew McAleer (together the ‘Judges’). In the event of a tie, Andrew McAleer will have the casting vote. The winning entry will be the one that best meets the Judging Criteria. The Shortlist Judges’ and the Final Judges’ decisions for the selection of the Shortlisted Entrants and the Winner, respectively, are final.
10. The Winner of the Prize will have the opportunity to enter into the Contract, to be agreed between the Winner and the Publisher. The Contract will set out the terms and conditions relating to publication of the book including but not limited to an advance of not less than £5000 to be paid against royalties (the ‘Advance’), the royalty percentages, details of the rights to be granted and other provisions relating to delivery and production of the book. The Winner will be required under the Contract to grant to the Publisher all rights in the book in all languages throughout the world. If no agreement is reached between the Winner and the Publisher, the Publisher will be at liberty to consider and select another of the Shortlisted Entrants to be the Winner. The original Winner may not in such a case refer to themselves as the winner of a Prize for this Competition.
11. 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 Shortlisted Entrants; (ii) not select a Winner from the Shortlisted Entrants and/or (iii) select fewer Shortlisted Entrants.
12. 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 will 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.
13. The name of the Winner will be announced by 31st October 2026 on The Future Bookshelf and the Publisher’s websites. The Winner will be informed in advance by email. The names of all Shortlisted Entrants and the Winner may be published on The Future Bookshelf and the Publisher’s websites and may also be publicised in other media including on social media sites.
14. An entrant may only submit one entry. Further entries will be disqualified. Entries will not be accepted via agents, third parties or in bulk.
15. 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.
16. 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.
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.littlebrown.co.uk/imprint/little-brown/page/privacy-notice-general-little-brown. The Information will be deleted within six months of the announcement of the Winner.
18. No purchase is necessary to enter the Competition.
19. By entering the Competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
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.