BOOK NEWS. @jax-king.bsky.social and @samanthaleduc.bsky.social teamed up for our Best Illustrated Picture Book 2023 competition. Now their shortlisted book is published! Wow! 🥳 Couldn’t be more proud of our author/illustrator pair. ❤️

AGENT NEWS. Not one but two offers of representation for our fabulous Best Novel Opening 2024 shortlistee @mcalvani.bsky.social . Wow! Mayra has now signed with the equally fabulous @keslupo.bsky.social of @maasslitagency.bsky.social . What a perfect match! Huge congrats, Mayra.

BOOK NEWS. This story was shortlisted in Searchlight’s Best Picture Book Text 2022 competition - and now it’s a published book! So happy for you @nadineholland.bsky.social . 👏👏👏

Our super-talented listee Amanda Addison has been shortlisted for The New Angle Prize 2025 with her YA novel Looking for Lucie. We are so proud of her. ❤️

We have decided to take a short break in 2025 to give our entrants time to work on amazing new stories. Our next competition will be opening in 2026. Best of luck with your writing and see you all soon!

Our Winners’ Gallery for Best Novel Opening and Best Picture Book Text 2024 is now live! See who won, read short extracts of the stories… Congratulations to all! 👏👏👏 www.searchlightawards.co.uk/winners-gall...

The moment we sent out our Agent/Publisher Pitch Book of Winning Stories @gavin-crippin.bsky.social started getting interest. ‘Such a great voice!’ was the general opinion. Things moved at lightning speed and we’re delighted to say that Gavin has now accepted representation. Fantastic news! 🥳

BOOK NEWS - We’re seeing Olivia Wakeford’s book EVERYWHERE! 🥳 Back in 2021 My Dog was one of our competition entries and our readers fell in love with it. ❤️Since then Olivia’s joined our reading team and she’s brilliant at selecting stories for the longlist, too. Massive congrats, Olivia.

AGENT NEWS! Huge congratulations to the winner of Searchlight’s Best Picture Book Text 2024 @tomwriting.bsky.social . ⭐️⭐️⭐️

So excited that my MG gothic horror 'Violeta's Adventures in Doll-Land' made the shortlist!

My first post on BlueSky and what fantastic news I have to share! I've been awarded 2nd Place in the Searchlight Children's Picture Book Text 2024 awards. Thank you to @writingawards.bsky.social , to all the readers and to Lorna Hemingway for choosing Cyril.

I’m thrilled to win @writingawards.bsky.social’s Best Picture Book Text 2024! Huge thanks to Kim Donovan for organising, Lorna Hemingway for judging, and all the amazing readers for this competition. Congratulations to all the other entrants for putting their fantastic stories out there! 🙌🏻

Genuinely made up with this. Congratulations to all the other entrants, thanks to the readers, judges and Kim and the team for organising. What a day!

Tom Lancaster has been crowned the winner of Best Picture Book Text 2024. Our judge Lorna Hemingway of Bell Lomax Moreton said Bamboo Hullabaloo was ‘a joy to read aloud due to its excellent rhyme and fast paced nature’. Many congratulations, Tom! 🥳⭐️🍾

Huge congratulations to the winner of Best Novel Opening 2024 - @gavin-crippin.bsky.social . ⭐️🥳🍾 Our literary agent judge Rachel Petty of The Blair Partnership admired Gavin’s ‘sparkly dialogue and authentic-feeling voice’. Our readers loved the voice, too!

Congratulations to all the fabulous writers who entered this competition- the standard was so high! And massive congrats to Gavin! 💐

Announcing the long-awaited results of Best Picture Book Text 2024. Huge congratulations to our final 10! Thank you to all the writers who entered this competition. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to read your stories. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/best-childre...

We are thrilled to announce the results of Best Novel Opening 2024. Congratulations to our final 10! ⭐️🥳 A huge thank you to all our entrants for being brave and allowing us to read your work. It has been a privilege and a pleasure. ❤️ www.searchlightawards.co.uk/best-novel-o...

Longlistees, we will be emailing you the results of Best Novel Opening and Best Picture Book Text 2024 tomorrow - ahead of the official announcement on Friday. You are all superstars and, whether you are shortlisted or not, we believe in your stories. Best of luck!

Thrilled for our listee @orsorrel.bsky.social ! What fantastic news! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

In 2023 we ran an illustrated picture book competition and encouraged writers and illustrators to team up for it. Jax King and @samanthaleduc.bsky.social were one of our amazing teams. This is their shortlisted book! Incredibly proud. ❤️

Couldn’t be happier! The winner of our Best Chapter Book 2024 competition - Sophie Clarke with Gracie, Dave and The God of Dogs - has accepted representation from Lucy Irvine of PFD. Such brilliant news! 🥳

@luwrites.bsky.social reads for Searchlight Awards and is absolutely brilliant. Her own writing career took off when she won the Mslexia competition back in 2012. She’s such an amazing writer. Can’t wait to read her new book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s the moment our entrants have been waiting for - the longlist announcement! 🥳🍾 Congratulations to everyone who entered. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to read your writing. See our website for details. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/news/

This was a top entry in @writingawards.bsky.social & I absolutely LOVED it - so delighted to find out it's going to be published! Congratulations, @clairelewiswrites.bsky.social 🌟

BOOK NEWS! Delighted to be able to share with you that Mina the Mighty (shortlisted in our 2022 Best Picture Book Text competition) will be published in March. It was an absolute favourite with our readers. So happy for @nadineholland.bsky.social . 🥳👏

BOOK NEWS - Thrilled that The Go Away Rain Dance is to published! It’s by our wonderful shortlistee (and now competition reader) @clairelewiswrites.bsky.social . Claire not only wrote the picture book but illustrated it, too. So, so talented! ⭐️

Over the moon to finally see this absolutely gorgeous picture book. It’s by our super-talented listee (and more recently competition reader) @hazelgardner.bsky.social . Penguin and Pup are sooo loveable. I can see why Macmillan asked for a series! ❤️

Our 2024 competitions are now closed for judging. Good luck, everyone. 🍀🤞

Competition closing this Sunday at 23.59pm, UK time. Good luck, everyone! 🍀🤞 www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

Just a little reminder that our competition closes this Sunday at 23.59pm, UK time. For everyone working hard to submit before the deadline you can do it! www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

We’re seeing our entrant badges popping up all over social media 🙂. If you see one please join us in wishing the writer good luck. We know how hard everyone works on their stories and we like to celebrate every entry. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

Could you be our winner? Just over one week left to enter - go for it! Please share with your writer friends. We don’t want anyone to miss the deadline. Thank you! www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

This year we’ve introduced an amazing 2nd place prize for Best Picture Book Text 2024. It’s a detailed editorial review of the manuscript from top editor Natascha Biebow, MBE. Natascha has over 30 years experience commissioning and editing picture books. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

CLOSING SOON! Just over 2 weeks left to enter. First prize: cash award and a call with our agent judge. Second prize: editorial feedback. All shortlisted entries: featured in our coveted Agent/Publisher Pitch Book of Winning Stories. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

Absolutely thrilled that Lorna Hemingway is judging Best Picture Book Text 2024. Last year our agent judge Becky Bagnell offered representation to our winner Sarah Dollar. Opportunity knocks! Deadline: 1st September. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

Judged by literary agents Lorna Hemingway and Rachel Petty. 1st prize: £1000 - novel opening, £500 - picture book text. 2nd prize: editorial feedback. Shortlisted entries: featured in our coveted agent/publisher pitch book. Go for it! 🍀🤞 www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

Searchlight’s Pitch Book of Winning Stories is working its magic again. Six of our nine shortlistees for Best Chapter Book 2024 have already received interest from agents and publishers. To enter one of our other competitions see here: www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

Our Winners’ Gallery for Best Chapter Book for 5-8-year-olds is now live! See who won, read short extracts of the stories… Congratulations to all! www.searchlightawards.co.uk/winners-gall...

How to Write a Killer Pitch Paragraph by our former (and lovely) literary agent judge Katie Blagden. Brilliant if you’re entering one of our 2024 Writing for Children/YA competitions. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/how-to-write...

Calling all emerging YA and children’s authors. 1st prize: £1000 - novel opening, £500 - picture book. 2nd prize: editorial feedback. Shortlisted entries: featured in our coveted agent/publisher pitch book. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

We are delighted that celebrated author and highly regarded creative writing tutor Steve Voake will deliver our 2nd place editorial prize for Best Novel Opening 2024. Wow! You can read more about the prizes here: www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions...

Literary agent Lorna Hemingway is hugely supportive of Searchlight Awards and will be a fantastic judge. She offered to judge before we had the chance to ask her, so she is actively seeking undiscovered writers. Don’t miss out! www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

NEW JUDGE. Top literary agent Rachel Petty of the prestigious Blair Partnership is judging Searchlight’s Best Novel Opening competition this year. Before joining the agency she was editorial director at Macmillan Children’s Books. Only the best for you! www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

BOOK NEWS! Our brilliant picture book and chapter book shortlistee Louisa MacDougall has not one but three books coming out this summer with Little Door Books and Foggie Toddle Books. She has achieved this without an agent. You are amazing, Louisa! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

We are delighted to announce the results of Searchlight’s Best Chapter Book competition. Huge congratulations to our shortlistees and crowned winner Sophie Clarke. Congratulations also to our talented longlistees and thank you to everyone who entered. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/best-chapter...

Great to be in the summer issue of Mslexia. We’re super-excited about our new competitions and can’t wait to unearth some hidden gems. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/

BEST CHAPTER BOOK 2024. Longlistees, we will email you tomorrow with the competition results ahead of the official announcement on Friday. Best of luck! If you’ve been shortlisted - huge congratulations. If not - please know that your story is amazing. A book deal is within your reach. Go for it!

Delighted to be in the forthcoming issue of PaperBound magazine.

Back by popular demand. First prize: Cash award and a one-to-one call with the agent judge. Second prize: editorial feedback from a top industry professional. All shortlisted entries featured in our coveted Agent/Publisher Pitch Book of Winning Stories. www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/