I Am Writing Competitions 2025
COMPETITION WINNERS 2025

It is finally announcement time for the twelve I Am Writing Competitions!

To give you an idea of how difficult the judges found making their selection, an astonishing 2171 entries were received across all genres and broken down as follows:

I Am Writing Action/Adventure Competition - Entries received: 51
I Am Writing Chapter Book (including Graphic Novels) Competition - Entries received: 87
I Am Writing Cosy Crime Competition - Entries received: 68
I Am Writing Crime/Thriller Competition - Entries received: 136
I Am Writing Historical Competition - Entries received: 151
I Am Writing Horror Competition - Entries received: 83
I Am Writing Literary/Upmarket Fiction Competition - Entries received: 255
I Am Writing Middle Grade Competition - Entries received: 223
I Am Writing Picture Books Competition - Entries received: 595 (Some of the 595 entries contained 2 picture books)
I Am Writing Romance Competition - Entries received: 153
I Am Writing Sci-Fi / Fantasy Competition - Entries received: 203
I Am Writing Teen, YA, NA Competition - Entries received: 166


Sponsored Entries

We are extremely grateful to all of the lovely people who sponsored one or multiple entries. This really does help keep these competitions accessible to those who otherwise would not be able to enter.

74 free of charge places were donated by I Am In Print
21 50% discounted places were donated by I Am In Print

The wonderful writing community donated an additional 12 places making a grand total of 107 writers who were granted discounted or free of charge entry into a genre of their choice.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored a place!

Well done to all who entered!

With this record number of entries we want to express another huge well done to each and every writer who entered. It will be disappointment for some, and elation for others, but, however you fared, we want you to feel proud of the fact that you wrote your story down and entered it for professionals to read.

We have received some lovely messages from the judges saying how much they enjoyed reading your submissions and each agreed the standard was incredibly high this year. Several had extreme difficulty in picking their top three and some of the Highly Commended only narrowly missed out.

But we now have the news you have all been waiting for...

I Am Writing ACTION/ADVENTURE Competition Winners!

I Am Writing Action/Adventure Competition Winners, judged by John Baker from Bell Lomax Moreton.

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of Action / Adventure novel for adults along with a one-page synopsis.

Judged by: John Baker, Literary Agent at Bell Lomax Moreton.

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with John Baker

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with John Baker

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with John Baker

I Am Writing CHAPTER BOOKS / GRAPHIC NOVELS Competition Winners!

Entrants were invited to submit the first 2,000 words of any type of chapter book / graphic novel. Chapter books / graphic novels should be suitable for 6-9 year olds. A one-page synopsis was also required.

Judged by: Millie van Grutten, Literary Agent at RCW Literary Agency.

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Millie van Grutten

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Millie van Grutten

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Millie van Grutten

I Am Writing COSY CRIME Competition Winners!

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of cosy crime novel for adults along with a one-page synopsis.

Judged by: Louise Buckley, Associate Literary Agent at Hannah Sheppard Literary Agency.

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Louise Buckley

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Louise Buckley

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Louise Buckley

I Am Writing CRIME / THRILLER Competition Winners!

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of crime / thriller novel for adults along with a one-page synopsis.

Judged by: Rachel Neely, Literary Agent at Mushens Entertainment.

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Rachel Neely

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Rachel Neely

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Rachel Neely

I Am Writing HISTORICAL Competition Winners!

I Am Writing Historical Competition judged by Therese Coen

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of historical novel for adults along with a one-page synopsis.

Judged by: Thérèse Coen, Director and Literary Agent at Susanna Lea Associates.

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Thérèse Coen

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Thérèse Coen

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Thérèse Coen

I Am Writing HORROR Competition Winners!

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of YA or adult horror novel along with a one-page synopsis. YA is classed as being suitable for age 15+ for this competition.

Judged by: Jade Kavanagh, Literary Agent at Darley Anderson.

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Jade Kavanagh

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Jade Kavanagh

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Jade Kavanagh

I Am Writing LITERARY/UPMARKET Competition Winners!

I Am Writing Literary/Upmarket competition judged by Liv Maidment

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of Literary/Upmarket Fiction novel for adults along with a one-page synopsis.

Judged by: Liv Maidment, Head of Books and Literary Agent at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Liv Maidment

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Liv Maidment

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Liv Maidment

I Am Writing MIDDLE GRADE Competition Winners!

I Am Writing Middle Grade Competition Winners judged by Penny Holroyde

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of Middle Grade novel along with a one-page synopsis.

Judged by: Penny Holroyde, Director and Literary Agent at Holroyde Cartey

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Penny Holroyde

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Penny Holroyde

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Penny Holroyde

I Am Writing PICTURE BOOKS Competition Winners!

i Am Writing Picture Books Competition 2025 judged and sponsored by Little Tiger

Entrants were invited to submit up to two texts of no more than 600 words each, in prose or verse, that are perfect for sharing with children aged 3-6.

Sponsored and judged by: Little Tiger

1st Prize: £250, a one-to-one Zoom editorial consultation with the Little Tiger editorial team to discuss the winning submission plus a £50 book token

2nd Prize: Written editorial feedback and a £30 book token

3rd Prize: Written editorial feedback and a £20 book token

I Am Writing ROMANCE Competition Winners!

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of YA or Adult romance novel along with a one-page synopsis. YA is classed as being suitable for age 15+ for this competition.

Judged by: Rebeka Finch, Literary Agent at Darley Anderson Agency and Associates.

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Rebeka Finch

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Rebeka Finch

3rd Prize: A 15 minute consultation with Rebeka Finch

I Am Writing SCI-FI / FANTASY Competition Winners!

I Am Writing Sci-Fi / Fantasy Competition 2025

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of YA or Adult Sci-Fi / Fantasy novel along with a one-page synopsis.

Judged by: Laura Bennett, Associate Literary Agent at The Liverpool Literary Agency

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Laura Bennett

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Laura Bennett

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Laura Bennett

I Am Writing TEEN / YA / NA Competition Winners!

Entrants were invited to submit the first 3,500 words of any type of Teen, Young Adult or New Adult novel along with a one-page synopsis. Teen entries should be suitable for 13-14 year-olds, YA books for 15-18 year-olds and NA for 18 year-olds and readers in their early 20s.

Judged by: Gyamfia Osei, Literary Agent at Andrew Nurnberg Associates

1st Prize: £250 plus a 30 minute online consultation with Gyamfia Osei

2nd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Gyamfia Osei

3rd Prize: A 15 minute online consultation with Gyamfia Osei

FAQS

Most frequent questions and answers:

Please email us at: competitions@iaminprint.co.uk if you cannot find the answer to your question in the FAQs or the competition guidelines when you click through to the entry platform.

The shortlists will be announced on Monday 23 June 2025 on the www.iaminprint.co.uk website and across our social media platforms.

The winners will be announced on Monday 14 July 2025 on the www.iaminprint.co.uk website and across our social media platform.

No. We will only publish the shortlist / entry title, not the actual document.

If you made the top three in one of our competitions, we will be in contact with you by email very soon. Check the email you used to sign up to the Zealous platform.

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