Friday Night Live at the Festival of Writing Submissions – Jericho Writers
Jericho Writers
167-169 Great Portland street, 5th Floor, London, W1W 5PF
UK: +44 (0)330 043 0150
US: +1 (646) 974 9060
Email: info@jerichowriters.com

Friday Night Live Submissions For The London Festival Of Writing

Submissions for 2023 are now open.

Friday Night Live at London Festival of Writing 2023

You have you entry polished and all set, it’s now time to send it into the ether and keep your fingers crossed.

From all at Jericho Writers, we wish you the best of luck and cannot wait to see you at the festival.

Friday Night Live London 2023

How Does it Work?

Friday Night Live will take place on Saturday* October 28 2023 at 17:00 BST in Tuke Hall. If you’re a Sunday-only ticket holder and only arriving for the competition, please arrive at Regent’s University reception by 16.45 where you’ll be guided to the event.

The event will also feature six special guest literary agents and will be hosted by the excellent Debi Alper. We’ll kick off with an introduction from them on who they are and what they’re looking for, then we will invite the eight finalists on stage to read their entries. The panel will give feedback on their openings and at the end, we’ll invite the audience to vote for their favourite by clapping the loudest for who they’d like to win. The winner will then be invited on stage to speak to the audience about their work and what they’re going to do with their prize!

*Yes, Friday Night Live is on a Saturday – but other than that, it’s still the same competition we all know and love.

The Rules

  • All London Festival of Writing ticket holders can enter Friday Night Live.
  • If you’ve previously entered the First 500 Competition 2023, you may also enter Friday Night Live. If you were a finalist for the First 500 Novel Competition, you are not eligible to enter.
  • The deadline for entry is 9am BST on Monday October 9. Judging will commence immediately, so please ensure your entry is submitted in plenty of time!
  • All entries will be read by two reader judges and given a mark of ‘no’; ‘maybe’; ‘yes’; or a ‘Golden Yes’. The shortlist will be made from the entries with the highest overall mark across both readers.
  • We encourage everyone to apply for Friday Night Live, no matter your background or where you are in the world. However, if you have an agent or are traditionally published, we ask that you leave this opportunity for those who could most benefit from it.
  • Finalists will be contacted on 18 October. Whereas the shortlist will be announced during the live event. We will be in touch in due course about the event.
  • If you have any further access needs or requirements, please do get in touch with our team at info@jerichowriters.com who will be happy to help.

The Prize

One winner will be chosen from our eight finalists live on the night. They will win:

  • A Manuscript Assessment from Jericho Writers.
  • Lifetime membership to Jericho Writers.
  • A 30-minute one-to-one with a literary agent who specialises in the winning entries’ genre.
  • Eternal glory!

Your Judges

Jo Williamson

Bio

Jo started working in Children’s publishing PR in 1995 and after working at DK, HarperCollins and Orion she pivoted to become a literary agent with Antony Harwood in 2008. Since then she has build up a list of clients from picture book writers up to authors adult psychological thrillers.  She enjoys close working relationships with her authors and focusses on building a long term career for them.

Jenny Savill

Bio

Jenny started at Andrew Nurnberg Associates as PA to the Managing Director in 2002.  Fast forward 20 years and she is now the Managing Director of the agency, the two specialisms of which – primary agenting and translation rights, make it uniquely placed for the successful representation of authors and publishing clients, worldwide.

Liv Maidment

Bio

Liv’s first experience of publishing was with an internship at the Madeleine Milburn Agency. She then went on to roles at The Blair Partnership and United Agents where she worked with bestselling and award winning authors, and global literary brands. Liv came full circle when joining the Madeleine Milburn Agency in 2020 where she represents literary and upmarket fiction.

Sile Edwards

Bio

Silé began her career at the Publishers Association, supporting their campaigns and communication functions. She then moved to Curtis Brown as an assistant in the Book Department, where she supported deals for an extensive and eclectic list of clients before joining a boutique agency where she built a list of her own, brokering deals for debut novelists, content creators and experts writing commercial non fiction books on their specialty.

Silé joined Andrew Nurnberg Associates in 2022, bringing with her the dynamic list of authors she’d built in just two years including debut author Kuchenga, writer-activists Natalie and Naomi Evans, co-founders of EverydayRacism, architect and TV presenter Laura Jane Clark, birthing coach Illiyin Morrison and food-writer Denai Moore. Silé was named a Trailblazer by London Book Fair in 2021 for her passion, dedication, resilience and commitment to her authors and is also a trustee for award-winning mentoring charity Arts Emergency.

Davinia Andrew-Lynch Agent Book Dr 121 profile

Davinia Andrew-Lynch

Bio

Davinia joined Curtis Brown in 2023 and represent children’s/YA writers and illustrators across the genres, and a growing list of commercial adult fiction. A complete 90s child with a love of film and TV, She’s been shaped by the storytelling of the time – big, bold and pacy but with characters you can’t help but love. She’s looking for stories that smack you between the eyes, capture your heart, make you laugh (no matter the story or genre) and genuinely reflect the world in which we live.

Above all, she wants to give writers and illustrators the space to tell the stories that they want to tell. Prior to CB, she founded and ran boutique agency Andlyn and was formerly a film/TV agent. She also co-founded, in conjunction with Faber Children’s, the FAB Prize which aims to discover unpublished children’s writers and illustrators from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds (www.fabprize.org)

Laura Williams

Bio

Laura Williams joined Greene & Heaton as an agent in 2018. She worked at Peters Fraser and Dunlop from 2011, after completing a degree in Classics at Oxford.

She is actively building a fiction list and a small non-fiction list. She is currently looking for literary fiction, edgy commercial fiction, psychological thrillers and high-concept contemporary young adult, as well as narrative non-fiction of all types. Her taste is quite dark, and she loves gothic, ghost stories, horror and anything sinister. She also loves books that make her cry, from big love stories to intense family dramas.

Watch last year’s Friday Night Live

Wondering what the Friday Night Live final looks like? Check out 2022’s hosted by Debi Alper, featuring 6 agent judges.

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Frequently asked
questions

1

When is the in-person Friday Night Live?

It is at the London Festival of Writing on Saturday October 28th at 17:00. Yes, it’s on a Saturday – but it’s still the Friday Night Live we all know and love. Humour us!

2

How many people will make the shortlist?

Eight entries will be chosen. They will read their work on stage in front of the live audience. 

3

I’ve already entered the First 500 competition, can I also enter Friday Night Live?

If you’ve previously entered the First 500 Competition 2023, you may also enter Friday Night Live. If you were a finalist for the First 500 Novel Competition, you are not eligible to enter.

4

Will agents be in attendance?

Yes. six agents will join the panel and comment on the finalists’ work, although they don’t choose the winner! Remember that a lot of agents will be in the audience, so it’s a great chance to get your work heard by industry experts. 

5

How is the competition judged?

It is judged by the audience! The biggest applause decides the winner. 

6

I am terrified of public speaking, help!

A member of the Jericho Writers team can read your work on your behalf. Alternatively, you can submit to our online Friday Night Live, which uses pre-recorded videos rather than live readings. 

7

Where do I go for more information on accessibility?

We’d love to hear from any writer who is concerned about accessing the London Festival of Writing and will always do our best to help where we can. Contact our team on info@jerichowriters.com.  

8

I can’t see the answer to my question here. Who do I contact?

Our team is made up of writers and readers who are passionate about the written word. If you have a question, pop it over to us at info@jerichowriters.com and we’ll be happy to help.  

Please note that we’re a small team and currently experiencing a high number of calls and emails. We promise we’ll get back to you as soon as we possibly can. 

9

I’m only coming on Sunday, can I still enter Friday Night Live? 

Yes, you can! Friday Night Live (Saturday Edition) will run from 17.00 to 18.30. Please arrive at the venue by 16.45. If you won’t be available to attend the competition, please do not enter as each person on the shortlist must be present.