Montegrappa Writing Prize

Jessica Jarlvi and I held a workshop on Saturday for those intending to enter the annual Montegrappa Writing Prize, held by the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. I won the competition in 2013, and Jessica was a runner-up in 2016 – since then, we’ve both gone on to become published authors.

In 90 minutes, we covered what you need to do to win: namely, submit a killer synopsis and the first 2,000 words of your work, which should begin with an intriguing hook. We worked on how to create your elevator pitch, how to work that up into a synopsis, and examined what the synopsis needs to cover. We also looked at opening sentences that would grab the attention of the judge, ways to create three-dimensional characters, how to pace your action, and did some work on the famous ‘show, don’t tell’. In the words of Chekhov, ‘Don’t tell me the Moon is shining – show me the glint of light on broken glass.’

At the end, Jessica and I sat one-by-one with the participants and gave individual feedback on their potential competition entries to help them get their work into the best possible shape.

Even if you weren’t at our workshop, there’s still time to enter the Montegrappa Writing Prize – and you could win the attention of top London agent, Luigi Bonomi.

Annabel at the Dubai LitFest

Long post alert!

The 2019 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature runs from March 1-9 and tickets are now on sale. This festival has a special place in my heart, for it’s there that I won the Montegrappa Prize and took my first step on the path to becoming a published author. This year I’ll be returning to the festival for three events:

How to Write a Novel – A Masterclass in 30 Tips

Sat 9 March, 4-5.30pm. AED 200. InterContinental Dubai, Festival City.

I can see I’m going to be busy over the next few weeks getting my tips lined up! But when I look back over the last five years, from winning the 2013 Montegrappa Writing prize as an unpublished author, to today, when I’ve four novels out in the shops and have just submitted my fifth manuscript to my editor, I realise how much I’ve learned.

Before I won my publishing contract, I attended as many Masterclasses at the EAFOL as I could: Greg Mosse, Mark Billingham, Marina Lewycka, Tony Parsons, Louise Doughty, Alexander McCall-Smith and Peter James to name a few. I learned that every author has a different style of writing and a different approach to writing a novel, and I learned something valuable from each and every one of those authors.

Since publication, I’ve learned even more about writing through working with the talented editors at my publisher, HQ Stories, and with my agent, Luigi Bonomi, who has an uncanny ability to cast an eye over a synopsis and tell me in a sentence exactly what’s wrong with it.

I can’t get you published, but I hope my masterclass will push you a little further along the road toward finishing your novel, getting it in shape for submitting, or even to winning an agent and a publishing deal. You can buy tickets here.

Is the future social?

Thu 7 March, 7.30-8.30pm. AED 75. InterContinental Dubai, Festival City.

I’m really looking forward debating the pros and cons of social media with Katherine Ormerod and Ty Tashiro on this panel. As expats, many of us rely on social media not just for work, but to stay in touch with friends and family overseas. But is it all good?

My fourth novel, ‘I Know You’, is about a woman who’s a little naïve, a little careless about what she posts on social media, and the trouble it gets her into; I did a lot of research in order to write it. I’m generally a fan of social media for the reasons above, but I can’t stand all the showboating and fakery you see on Instagram so I can’t wait to discuss this with Katherine, whose book is called ‘Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life’.

Ty’s an expert in the science of relationships and online dating (something I’ve never done – yes, what a dinosaur!). One of his books is called ‘The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome’ – as one who often hides behind the written word, I love the sound of that and will definitely be reading it before the Litfest.

As social media affects so many of us, I think this will be a lively and interesting debate – come and join us! Tickets are available here.

The 2019 Montegrappa Prize

Sat 2 March, 12-1pm. AED 75. InterContinental Dubai, Festival City.

This is the event every budding writer will be attending! As the winner of the inaugural Montegrappa Prize back in 2013 I’m delighted to be sharing the stage this year with my agent, Luigi Bonomi, who judges the competition, and my friend and fellow author, Karen Osman, who won the prize in 2016 and has gone on to have two books published.

Before Luigi announces this year’s winners, Karen and I will be discussing with him what winners will need to do after the competition in order to turn their brilliant success into a writing career. Clue: lots of hard work! Tickets are available here.

Win the Montegrappa Writing Prize!

On Saturday, I got together with one of my fellow Montegrappa prize-winners, Jessica Jarlvi, to present a two-and-a-half-hour workshop for those entering the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature’s Montegrappa Writing competition this year. This competition was the springboard to success for both of us, gaining us the attention of top London literary agent Luigi Bonomi, and paving the way for us both to sign up with him as an agent and gain our book deals.

The workshop was called ‘How to write a best-seller’ but I would have titled it ‘How to win the Montegrappa Prize’ as the advice we gave was very specific to the competition entry.

For that, you need to submit a 400-word synopsis of your story, plus the first 2,000 words of the manuscript, so we covered topics such as: what is a synopsis and why you need one; how to write a synopsis; how to write an elevator pitch; how to hook the reader with your opening sentence; where to start your story; how to ‘show don’t tell’; common mistakes; and things we wish we’d known when we entered the Montegrappa Writing Prize. We also read the participants’ entries (in advance, not on the day!) and gave individual feedback on them.

We were impressed with the originality of the stories people have to tell: if this is you, and you’re thinking of entering the competition, head over to the EAFOL blog for our specific tips on writing the synopsis and the first few pages so you can maximise your chances of winning.

And, speaking of the EAFOL, the author line-up for 2019 was announced yesterday. Tickets don’t usually go on sale till around January, but I don’t think it’s ever too early start planning the best two weeks of the year – do you?

The Montegrappa Writing Prize 2018 is now open!

In 2013, I became the first person to win the Montegrappa Writing Prize for unpublished authors at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. To say it changed my life would be an understatement. Not only did I win professional validation from judge Luigi Bonomi of LBA Agency in London, but I won a foot in the door of the literary world.

Luigi Bonomi guided me through getting my manuscript ready to sell, then secured me a three-book publishing contract, which was later renewed for another three books with HQ Stories at Harper Collins.

Unpublished writers in the UAE, this could be the break you’ve been waiting for. All you need to do is enter 2,000 words and a synopsis. Find out everything you need to know, and how to enter, here.