The Prizes

Weekend Writing Retreat in the Peak District
Once in-person activities are possible again, we’ll look forward to welcoming you to one our weekend writing retreats in the Peak District, worth £399. Bring whatever project you’re working on and enjoy time to write in a beautiful purpose-built eco-cottage with all meals provided by an award-winning local caterer.
(Women and non-binary people only)

VIP That’s What She* Said Package
Be a guest of honour at our award-winning spoken word night (once we’re back in biz post-pandemic) in London, Bristol or Manchester. Your prize will include: 2 tickets, front-row seats, welcome drinks and a meet and greet with that night’s headliner.

Poetry Editing Package with Bridget Hart
A one-on-one editorial consultation and edit of three poems by poet, performer and editor Bridget Hart. This is perfect for spoken word artists looking to fit their work onto the page ready for publishing. A consultation will include a collaborative look at your poems, to ensure the most effective feedback for you to build on.

Creative Coaching Package with Jane Claire Bradley
A coaching package worth £300: six monthly hour-long one-to-one Skype calls to turbo-boost your writing practice and project with writer, therapist and For Books’ Sake founder Jane Claire Bradley. Together, you’ll work to set intentions, explore and develop ways through whatever’s holding you back, and get the accountability, insight and support you need to re-approach your writing with creativity, confidence and courage.

Bronze 1-to-1 Package from The Author School
Do you need individual advice for your book and writing career? Would you like to speak to publishers, a published author and a book PR to get one-on-one advice to answer your questions? The Author School offers three packages (Bronze, Silver and Gold) to enable authors to access bespoke expert advice from the comfort of your living room and anywhere in the world! In this Bronze package, you’ll get a 40-minute 1-2-1 with either Helen Lewis or Abiola Bello to help you take your author journey to the next level, whatever stage you’re at.

Limited Edition Art Prints by Bidisha
We have something very special up for grabs! Two sets of highly valuable, limited edition, numbered and signed photographic prints, created by writer, broadcaster, film maker and actor Bidisha. We’ll be sharing a sneak peek at these on our social media, so make you’re following us there to see what you could win!

Writing Feedback from Cecilia Knapp
Send a poem or piece of writing to poet and playwright Cecilia Knapp for dedicated feedback. Commissions include the TATE, Puffin Books, The Guardian and the BBC and she has written for The Huffington Post, Dazed and The Stage. She has been featured in Vogue as one of the UK’s young writers to watch. She was shortlisted for the role of London Laureate in 2018 and shortlisted for the 2020 Outspoken poetry prize. Her poems have appeared in Magma and Bath magazine and anthologised. She is an experienced editor and one of the lead tutors for the Roundhouse’s prestigious poetry collective.

Bumper Book Prize Bundle
A bumper goody bag of ten incredible books from some of our favourite people and publishers. Worth almost £100, this prize bundle includes: Burn It Down: Feminist Manifestos for the Revolution (Verso Books), the most comprehensive collection of feminist manifestos, chronicling our rage and dreams from the nineteenth century to today; Circles, the epic debut by Carmina Marsoliver; She Grrrowls: The Anthology (featuring Bridget Minamore, Joelle Taylor, Sabrina Mahfouz and many more); signed novels by prizewinning author Bee Rowlatt; along with titles from Comma Press, Saraband, BloodBath and more.

Book Prize Bundle from Burning Eye Books
A bundle of 4 books from the 2019-20 list of Burning Eye Books, the “never knowingly mainstream” award-winning independent press publishing some of the most innovative and exciting poets, performers and writers around.

Book Prize Bundle from Boudicca Press
Two anthologies from Boudicca Press, the independent publisher of brave and powerful writing from women of weird fiction: their debut collection, Disturbing the Beast (featuring authors including Rosie Garland, Aliya Whiteley, Sam Mills, Kirsty Logan and loads more), plus a pre-order of their forthcoming title, Disturbing the Body.

Book Prize Bundle from Claire Askew
A selection of books generously donated by Claire Askew. Claire Askew is the author of the novels All The Hidden Truths and What You Pay For, both published by Hodder & Stoughton. Her fiction and poetry have won various accolades, including the 2016 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, the 2017 Jessie Kesson Fellowship and the 2019 McIlvanney Debut Prize. This prize bundle will include signed copies of Claire’s two novels and her debut poetry collection, This Changes Things.

Book Prize Bundle from Sabrina Mahfouz
A selection of books generously donated by Sabrina Mahfouz, the London and Cairo raised multi-award winning playwright, poet, screenwriter and performer. Sabrina is the editor of The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write and Smashing It: Working Class Artists on Life, Art and Making It Happen. Her most recent poetry collections are Poems From a Green and Blue Planet (a Guardian Children’s Book of 2019) and How You Might Know Me, an exploration of four women’s lives, connected through their experience in different areas of the UK’s growing sex industry.

Prize Bundle from Rosie Garland
A goodie bag of books and other treats generously donated by prizewinning author, poet and performer Rosie Garland, including a signed copy of her novel Vixen dedicated to the winner.

Signed Goodies from Toria Garbutt
Our Knottingley powerhouse Toria Garbutt is “powerful, accessible, intelligent and musical – just about all the things I love in a poet” (Benjamin Zephaniah). Win a signed copy of her debut collection, The Universe And Me, along with a copy of her brilliant debut album, Hot Plastic Moon, a collection of confessional, observational and character based poetry, with a punk heritage, a staccato heartbeat and a unique flair for storytelling.

Plus loads more prizes still to be announced

Want to donate a prize? Amazing! Get in touch.

Performances

Maria Ferguson
Maria Ferguson is an award-winning writer and performer from Essex. Her debut show, Fat Girls Don’t Dance, won the Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Show. The follow-up, Essex Girl, was shortlisted for Soho Theatre’s Tony Craze Award and won Show of the Week at VAULT Festival 2019; both are published by Oberon Books. Maria’s poetry has been anthologised by Bad Betty Press and her debut collection, Alright, Girl? is out now.

Malaika Kegode
Malaika’s work has been described as “filmic” and tells us how we can find beauty and hope through darkness. Overall themes of family, mental health, addiction and love always have an undercurrent of optimism and strength. Malaika’s debut poetry collection Requite was published by Burning Eye Books. As a workshop leader she encourages young or vulnerable people to begin telling their own stories.

EMY P
Describing herself as “passionate, chaotic and scruffy”, an award-winning spoken word artist, BBC London featured poet and musician EMY P recently featured in the list of TOP 50 Neurodivergent Women 2019. On a mission to raise awareness and de-stigmatise negativity surrounding ADHD in adults, EMY’s honest writing and dark humour delves into the minds of everyday people as well as her own wired brain.

How It Works

– You buy your raffle ticket. You can buy as many tickets as you like. Each one counts as a separate entry.

– Your email confirmation of your raffle ticket purchase will contain all the details of how you can watch the prize draw and performances livestream. But don’t worry: you’re still eligible to win even if you can’t watch live.

– We’ll draw the winning raffle tickets as part of a live event, and contact all our winners afterwards.

– You’ll have 7 days to respond to that notification email to claim your prize.

– One or two of our prizes are for in-person events in specific locations, or are restricted in who can claim them. Our retreats, for example, are only open to women and non-binary writers. If you win a prize you can’t or don’t want to claim, you’ll have the option to gift it: either to someone you know or by letting us re-select another winner. We’ll offer you an alternative consolation prize too.