The Libraro Prize is a new writing competition launched by Libraro.com – a community-driven platform for writers and readers – in partnership with Hachette and LoveReading.

2. What is the purpose of The Libraro Prize?

To discover and support new writing via the Libraro platform, reimagining how authors are discovered by giving readers an active role in championing emerging talent.

There are two sets of prizes:

Readers visit the Libraro platform to discover and champion their favourite stories from prize submissions, thereby creating a shortlist of six. These six novels will then be judged by a panel of judges including authors and industry professionals.

Judges will be looking for fresh new voices and genre-defying fiction with the potential to become the next big bestseller. They will evaluate shortlisted novels on literary, commercial, and storytelling quality, originality, and reader engagement.

Each prize closes at Midnight GMT/BST.

The day-to-day running of the Prize is managed by the Libraro team, who oversee submissions, reader engagement on the platform, and the administration of the judging process.

Hachette is the official publishing partner for The Libraro Prize, and LoveReading is the

official partner for the two reader engagement prizes.

In addition, the Prize is supported by a range of community partners, who share its aims to democratise reading and writing, and to recognise the importance of building community and connection. They include:

Full details about entry requirements can be found in the Prize Terms & Conditions.

The Prize is open to any writer aged 18+, writing fiction (adult or crossover YA) in the English language, regardless of previous publishing success.

No, the Prize is open to entrants based worldwide, so long as their entry is written originally in the English language.

Writers should upload sample chapters (max 10,000 words) of their full manuscripts to the platform and readers can share constructive feedback on these chapters and champion their favourite submissions to form the shortlist.

In addition, writers should upload a full manuscript, which will only be visible to those involved in the final judging process. Submit via Libraro platform during the submissions period. Find out more about The Libraro Prize 2026 here.

No, it’s free to enter. Entrants are required to register for a free Libraro account in order to submit their entry, and to make their work available for the purposes of the competition.

One of the Libraro’s platform’s unique elements is that it uses patented blockchain technologies. Once submitted, each manuscript will go through a compliance review (to ensure it is not AI-generated or plagiarised from elsewhere) before being encrypted. After that, it cannot be shared outside of the platform without the author’s express permission. Writers’ work is protected, and will not be used for the purpose of AI training.

Writers upload sample chapters (max 10,000 words) of their full manuscripts to the platform and readers can share constructive feedback on these chapters and champion their favourite submissions to form the shortlist. In addition, writers upload a full manuscript which will only be visible to those involved in the final judging process. Submit via the Libraro platform during the submissions period.

Yes. The competition is open to writers aged 18+, regardless of previous publishing history or professional representation.

Yes. Self-published works (including via Amazon KDP or similar platforms) are eligible, so long as the author retains their rights and has all the necessary permissions.

Only one submission per author is permitted per prize cycle.

No, co-authored works are not eligible.

You will need to sign up for Libraro using your real name and contact details. There are options to create pseudonyms and select anonymity on the Libraro platform.

No.

Entrants retain full copyright of their submissions.

The prize is for fiction. Submissions may be of any theme, subject, or genre within Adult or crossover Young Adult fiction.

Authors will be contacted by the Prize administrator should they be successful.

Only shortlisted authors will be contacted.

PDFs.

Libraro is committed to inclusivity and will make reasonable adjustments upon request, to support entrants with disabilities or additional access needs. Entrants should contact support@libraro.com for assistance.

Shortlisted authors will receive mentoring from Hachette UK including support in refining their submissions, including guidance on synopsis, blurb and book cover.

No, any cover images provided will be treated as holding imagery.

Full details about reader requirements can be found in the Prize Terms & Conditions.

Readers must register for a free Libraro account in order to take part in the process.

If the winning author was referred to the Libraro Prize competition by more than one individual, Libraro will award the Reader Referral Prize to the person whose tracked referral URL / token was utilised the first time the writer joined the Libraro Platform.

Yes, but not for their own work. Writers are encouraged to refer fellow authors to the platform.

If the winner was not referred, Libraro will utilise the funds to encourage writers to sign up to the Libraro Platform, in its sole discretion.

This will be based on a mix of qualitative data and subjective criteria – rewarding those readers who have read and engaged in sample chapters and provided credible, helpful and substantial comments that are beneficial to authors, other readers, and potential publishers. It will also include those readers who champion Libraro Prize 2026 entries on social media.