How to Write a Prize Winner

Are you a writer looking for your big break? Or a creative writing tutor committed to offering innovative and accessible guidance? With so much competition for agents and publishers, prizes offer a great way for talented writers to catch their eye. Now sponsored by the Society of Authors, the Ruppin Agency and the Open University, the W&A Working-Class Writers’ Prize has a strong track record of helping writers get their voices heard.Bloomsbury is launching the Open University’s new edition of A Creative Writing Handbook: Developing Dramatic Technique, Individual Style and Voice, the most comprehensive guide to creative writing, invaluable for both writers and tutors.To mark the publication of the first new edition for 16 years, completely revised to reflect the contemporary writing world, we present an evening of advice, insight and practical exercises from the editors, authors and contributors of the new handbook and the team behind the prize. We’ll send you away with a pamphlet of excerpts from A Creative Writing Handbook and writing tips and activities to help you develop your submission to the W&A Working-Class Writers’ Prize – or any other award.7:00-7:20: The evolution of creative writingLead editor of A Creative Writing Handbook, Emma Claire Sweeney of the OU, talks about why the new edition is needed and how she and her team have gone about making the guide as helpful as possible for modern writers.  7:20-8.05: Coming up with a winning idea & crafting that killer openingAward-winning OU authors will show you how it’s done.8.05-8.15: Six tips to win over literary prize judgesJonathan Ruppin of The Ruppin Agency, which will be offering the winner an all-expenses-paid 5-day Little Goat Barn writing retreat in North Wales, shows you how to be a contender by sharing what he’s learned from judging numerous literary awards.8:15-8:30: Q&A with the teamOur panel will answer your questions about writing a prizewinner, studying Creative Writing at the OU, and how to be the best writer you can.