Many, many entries this cycle, well beyond what we had anticipated, and the standard of the writing has made winnowing the longlist unusually difficult. Thank you to everyone who trusted us with their opening pages. The quality was so high that the commended list is longer than in previous cycles. We are releasing the names in no particular order, over the coming days, and a shortlist will be drawn from this group. Today, in no particular order, we are announcing: - Lies on Sale by Gabby Martini - The Impossibility of Eden by Harry Wilson - Beach Dog by Tom McDonough - The Breaking Point by Fiona Harriet - The Taste of Iron by Ramona Slusarczyk - Askar and the Witch by Nina van der Beek - The City of a Thousand Eyes by Angelique Talbot - The Melusine Murders by Jesse Weiner Congratulations to all of them. Many further entries, equally commended, will be announced over the coming days. If your name is not yet here, please don't read into its absence. Names are being released in the order we can write the posts, which has nothing to do with preference, and every remaining commendation carries the same weight as those above.

It’s not even 9am yet, & I’ve already checked in about 5 times. Surely I am not alone 😅🙈

Hi there all! I received some (not M&C) competition feedback this morning. I've had bad experiences with feedback in the past, with comments that had little to do with my manuscript or were bland generic restatings of the submission guidelines. In this case the reader clearly had read and commented directly on the submission, praised the prose, the plotting and the use of formatting and epistolary elements... Once my heart settled a little I realised that it gave me absolutely nothing to work on, nothing to improve. It's not as though it was the greatest thing their readers had ever seen, I didn't make the list let alone place. Where do you go for constructive feedback? Are there competitions and publications/sites that you've found helpful on the past? Does the necessity of payment go hand in hand with people just wanting to please you?

A little celebration that I hope doesn’t break any rules… my novel, Perotine, was one of the top ten shortlisted in last year’s competition. It was subsequently picked up by a small publisher, and launches on Tuesday. This weekend, I’ve travelled from Jersey (home) to Gloucester to give two talks and then in the coming weeks I’ve got two appearances at home, plus a trip to the Guernsey Literary festival to discuss the book. In May, I’m also making several appearances in Wales. Exciting and very busy times! 📚 I’ve also dropped my Marlowe and C placement in several times in my promo. 😄 Good luck to everyone, this year!

Hello all, could you take a look at this and tell me if it would pique your interest? "Judy is a capable wife and an exacting mother, not the dependent old woman her daughters want her to be." Thanks as ever!