The TLC Pen Factor Writing Competition is a competition for new, unpublished writing across fiction and non-fiction, open exclusively to Conscious Writing Month ticket-holders and Being A Writer members (if you are a member, CWM is included in your membership – just head to Circle to RSVP!).
Previous winners and finalists include Neema Shah, Guinevere Glasfurd, Adam Sharp, Abi Dare, Stephanie Scott, Kirsty Capes, Fawzia Kane, Lizzie Damilola Blackburn and Johnny Gaunt, all of whom have gone on to have their listed work published with publishers including Penguin, Bloomsbury, Transworld, Viking, and Canongate.
New Prizes Announced
Five finalists will pitch their work live to a panel of industry judges at TLC Pen Factor Live! on Friday November 27th. Thanks to our partners we are able to announce a special suite of prizes for our winner and finalists. You can find details below.
First Prize:
- £500 cash
- £500 TLC Voucher redeemable against any service
- Agent one-to-one
- An Arvon Online Writing Day of the prize-winner’s choice (worth £90) to redeem within 24 months.
- A special book bundle from The Emma Press (worth (£100)
- A copy of the Writers & Artists Yearbook 2026 (worth £30)
- A year’s subscription to the London Review of Books (worth £148)
- A copy of Scrivener for Windows (worth £55)
Runner up:
- Full Manuscript Assessment (worth £750)
- Agent one-to-one
Three finalists:
- Opening Chapters Assessment (worth £350)
- 30-minute agent one to one
2026 Judges
This year’s live pitch judges are:
Hayley Steed, Janklow & Nesbit
Emmanuel Omodeinde, David Higham Associates
Jessica Lee, AM Heath
Our overall judge is editor Anna South.
How to Submit to the TLC Pen Factor 2026
*You must have a ticket to Conscious Writing Month, or be a member, to enter. Please read the full submission guidelines before entering*
Full submission guidelines for the 2026 competition will be issued once you have booked a ticket, and can also be found on our membership platform Circle. The below is a summary.
- The work entered must be an original, unpublished work of full-length fiction or narrative non-fiction. It does not have to be complete at the time of entering the competition.
- Your work must not be on submission to literary agents or publishers at the point of entry. If the work is on historic submission and you receive an offer of representation, you must immediately inform us and withdraw your submission from the competition.
- Unfortunately we are unable to accept short stories, poetry, picture books, or scripts.
- The work entered cannot have been previously published by a publisher with a curated list (i.e., where the work has been through an editorial selection process). Previously self-published work will be accepted.
- You must be a Conscious Writing Month ticketholder or Being A Writer member.
- You must enter the competition using the same name and email you used to purchase your ticket or set up your membership, so that we can verify your eligibility to enter.
- You must be able to attend the TLC Pen Factor Live Pitch on Friday 27th November 2026 in order to enter the TLC Pen Factor Writing Competition.
- You are invited to attend our one hour webinar ‘How to Win a Writing Competition’ on 13th October with competition judge Anna South – attendance is not mandatory but it may help you to understand what we are looking for (information will be sent to you once with your ticket).
- The judges’ decision re: longlist, shortlist and the overall winner is final and unfortunately we are not able to enter into discussion or give feedback.
- We will not accept any AI-generated writing.
- Submissions not complying with the submission guidelines will not be considered.
The Submission Deadline for the 2026 Prize is 9am (UK) 16th November 2026.
A special thank you is due to our TLC Pen Factor 2026 partners:
