The 2023 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition is now open!
Hot on the heels of our 2022 winner's announcement, we’re so excited to share that the submissions portal for the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2023 is OPEN!
And the winner is ...
On Monday at the Savile Club, in the downpour of the British summer, our ten judges sat down over coffee and biscuits to decide on the winner of the 2016 Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition. The debate was heated: every one of our shortlisted novels received passionate support. But ultimately, there can only be one winner. And the winner is … (more…)
Passing the Crown
Laurel Remington won the 2015 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition with The Secret Cooking Club, which will be published by Chicken House in August 2016. Here she tells us what her publishing journey has been like, and her advice for the final five. (more…)
Meet our final shortlistee!
This week we're introducing our fifth and final Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition shortlistee. Nicki Thornton's novel The Firefly Cage is a middle-grade murder mystery with a magical twist: kitchen boy Seth must solve a murder at a convention of magicians in order to prove himself innocent. (more…)
Meet our fourth shortlistee!
Each week we're introducing one of the five brilliant authors shortlisted for the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition. Up this week is Jamie Smith, author of Frostsliver – the story of one girl’s extraordinary survival when caught in a mountainside avalanche atop a sentient glacier.
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Meet our third shortlistee!
This week we're introducing Julie Mee, our third Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition shortlistee. Julie is the author of Project Cat's Away, which follows 12-year-old junior CIA agent, Emma, who struggles to maintain her work-life balance when a friend discovers her secret. (more…)
Meet our second shortlistee!
Each week, we're introducing you to one of the five fantastic authors shortlisted for this year's Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition. This week it's the turn of Tracy Darnton, author of Milo and Operation Stepdad, which follows Milo’s funny and heart-warming quest to find a partner for his single mum. (more…)
Meet our first shortlistee!
Each week, we'll be posting a profile on each of the authors shortlisted for the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition, so you can find out more about them and their book before the final winner announcement in mid June. First up is Janine Barnett-Phillips, author of Asterix Clementine – a gritty love story between two teens with an unexpected twist. (more…)
Reaching the shortlist
As our 2016 shortlistees draw towards the final leg of their journey and the uber-exciting WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT (squee!), we Chickens feel incredibly privileged: we’ve got five amazing manuscripts on our desks, and we’re publishing one of them. It’s impossible to guess which the judges will choose! But what does it really take to make the final five or six in the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition? I’ve been investigating competition data from the past eight years, and I’ve discovered some interesting facts … (more…)
Our shortlist is here!
From the huge amount of entries we received to this year's Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition, we've managed to narrow it down to just five! It was a tough job - each of this year's longlistees were truly fantastic, each story filled to the brim with originality, outstanding writing and completely riveting plots. Each longlisted submission left our team of readers glued to the pages, and it was no mean feat to whittle 20 stories down to five. So without further ado, here they are! (more…)
We have a longlist!
We're very pleased to be announcing the longlist for the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition! Our team of experienced readers read every single submission – and there were lots! – and along with Barry Cunningham and the Chicken House team have drawn up a longlist of the twenty very best submissions. So, here they are! (more…)
Introducing our 2016 Young Judge: Orli!
Hi there! I’m Orli, and I was fortunate enough to be chosen to be The Times and Chicken House’s Young Judge for the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2016. I’ll try and tell you a little about myself, just to hopefully persuade you that I’ll be worthy of the role! (more…)
Decoding Publishing Jargon: Sales
Sales is a crucial part of the publishing process (well, obviously!), and as sales tends to be publishers and booksellers talking to other publishers and booksellers, jargon is rife! We've broken down some of those trickier terms for any aspiring authors ... (more…)
My Top Writing Tips: Lucy Inglis
Lucy Inglis is the author of two fantastic Chicken House novels: thrilling fantasy City of Halves and epic romance Crow Mountain. She shares her top writing tips – #TimesChickenHouse entrants, take note! (more…)
My Top Writing Tips: Nick Garlick
This week, Storm Horse author Nick Garlick talks us through his top tips for those wanting to write their own children's story! And don't forget the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition is still open – visit our submissions page for more details. (more…)
My Top Writing Tips: Lisa Drakeford
Lisa Drakeford, author of the brilliant The Baby, was shortlisted for the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition in 2014. One year on we've published her fantastic shortlisted story – here are her top tips for budding authors! (more…)
My Top Writing Tips: Helen Maslin
Who better to get writing tips from than actual, fully-fledged, their-books-are-on-the-shelves published authors? We've collected top writing tips from a whole bunch of our recently-published authors, who generously share their words of wisdom for getting that novel completed. First up is Helen Maslin, author of the deliciously dangerous and romantic Darkmere. (more…)
Children's Fiction Competition: Barry's winning ingredients
What makes a Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition winner? Judge and Chicken House Publisher Barry Cunningham – known for signing a then-unknown author called J.K. Rowling – shares his thoughts ... (more…)
Decoding Publishing Jargon: Editorial
We’re all guilty of using jargon, and often don’t consider that other people might not understand what we’re talking about. As an industry, publishing is no exception and certainly has its own language. Having studied Publishing I know I didn’t expect to be unfamiliar with publishing lingo, so I was in for a bit of a shock. (more…)
Children's Fiction Competition: Six Books On
Sophia Bennett won the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition in 2009 with Threads. Six years down the line, Sophia has written five other books for Chicken House, and her seventh novel Love Song is due to publish next April. Here she looks back at getting that first phone call from Barry ... (more…)
