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What winning has meant for Marisa Linton
Marisa Linton won The Times Chicken House Children’s Fiction competition in 2023 – and that winning YA novel, The Binding Spell, is publishing incredibly soon.
A stand-alone contemporary fantasy novel that’s rich with folk horror elements, The Binding Spell launches on May 8th, and is available to pre-order now! Here, Marisa walks us through her path to publication through The Times Chicken House competition, and talks about all things rejection, making our long and short lists, and what it’s like to work with Chicken House … Enjoy – and over to you, Marisa!
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The Binding Spell
I didn’t think The Binding Spell would be the kind of book Chicken House would want. It’s very much a young adult story, part folk horror, part burning romance, a kind of mash-up of The Wickerman and This Country.
A young family is stuck in a remote village, where the Dad is carrying out an archaeological dig – and he begins to uncover ancient Celtic artefacts that should have stayed hidden. His daughter starts to realise that this is bad – very bad. She suspects that the mysterious young guy she’s drawn to is somehow involved in the secret, but she can’t work out how.
Dealing with rejection
I’d already had a lot of rejections for the story. Sadly, rejection is a routine experience in this really tough industry. I wasn’t going to try The Times Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition, thinking they would be looking for middlegrade novels (age 9–12), until a friend talked me into it just before the deadline. You lose nothing by trying.
I reworked my submission package (though the manuscript itself was the same one so many agents had turned down) and sent it off. I tried not to think about it, and got on with other projects. Easy to say, hard to do, though I’d had a lot of practice.
Making the long and short lists
When I made the longlist I kept my hopes in check, telling myself I could use that to query again. Then came the day Barry Cunningham (Publisher and Chicken House MD) phoned me to tell me I’d made the shortlist.
I have full-on imposter syndrome, and the call took me completely unawares. I couldn’t think straight. He asked what inspired me to write the book. I had no idea. I wasn’t even sure which book he was asking me about. I gabbled about liking old stuff. Barry waited patiently – I guess he’d met that kind of incoherent reaction before.
Winning the prize
Chicken House hosted a Big Breakfast event where the two winners were announced. It’s also where Chicken House and their authors talk about books they’ll publish in the coming year, with people from the publishing world come along to see what’s planned. I joined the other shortlistees, and we waited for the announcement to be made. I was convinced one of the others had won. They were all lovely and really nervous like me, and I’m sure they all really deserved it. But still . . . I clung on to those last few moments, thinking “at least you still have hope, they haven’t said yet that you haven’t won, not yet” …
When they called my book out, I was so stunned I couldn’t take it in. I worried they’d made a mistake. Imposter syndrome again. Someone nudged me to go up on the podium, and they handed me flowers, and a badge with the Chicken House logo. I think it was the homely touch of the badge that made me start to realise this was really happening, that my book would be published, that I had actually made it.
In that one moment everything changed for me. Afterwards the Chicken House team took all us shortlistees to a restaurant. Several previous winners came too. That personal touch and their sheer friendliness helps make Chicken House special. They work hard to support you, and make you feel that your book – and you – are important to them.
Publication is now on the horizon!
And now, sixteen months later, The Binding Spell is on the verge of being published. The process has been straightforward. The team is really supportive and professional. My editor, Shalu Vallepur, has been fantastic in guiding me through the edits, helping me make cuts and shape up the back story, and the final book is much better for it.
Why did my book win? Well, I’d like to think it’s because it’s the best book ever … Yeah, sure, in your dreams. But I do think that the way Chicken House chooses its winners makes a difference. The whole team is involved in reading the entries and everyone has their input. Seven judges make the final choice. Also, Barry himself – he’s set up a culture where the team can afford to follow their instincts, whereas the way that commercial publishing works makes most agents and editors very cautious and risk averse.
I still have the badge. Like the Romans with the statues of their household gods, I keep it in a special place – on the shelf beside the kitchen table where I write. To remind me – yes, this really did happen to you.
My best advice?
Write the book you really want to write, that only you can write, and make it the best you can. Be resilient when rejections come – which they will. Keep going regardless. And please enter this competition. You lose nothing by trying – and you may succeed.
Thank you for this amazing insight into the process, Marisa! To be in with a chance at winning the 2025 iteration of The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition, please take a look at our submissions page. We can’t wait to read what you’re creating!
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