ALLi's Press and Media Manager Nerys Hudson, based in Berlin, reports on a fantastic score for our Open Up to Indies campaign, particularly for writers of books published in the UK, and for self-publishers and indie authors in general.
We are delighted to report that Fiction Uncovered, open to books published in the UK, is the latest award scheme to open its metaphorical doors and its literal submissions process to indie authors.
With encouragement from the ALLi team, Fiction Uncovered has revised its submission process, making 2014 the first year in which the award will be open to author-published titles.
And if that wasn't enough good news, Fiction Uncovered has also secured funding for the next two years, thanks to funds from the National Lottery, with support from Arts Council England.
What is Fiction Uncovered?
Fiction Uncovered is an annual summer promotion which has been dubbed the ‘Mercury Prize’ for UK writers. Aiming to bring ‘under-discovered' writers to a wider audience, Fiction Uncovered is an incredibly vital award that supports writers at a stage when energies can begin to flag, under the efforts of writing and reaching readers in a highly commercial environment. The ALLi team will be working with eligible members, encouraging them to submit their work and put appropriate book distribution platforms in place to maximise the potential offered by such a platform.
Over the last year, we have seen self-publishers gradually make inroads into these more traditional, institution-led areas of publishing, and we are thrilled to see Fiction Uncovered join the prestigious Folio Prize as an award keen to break down the silos of traditional and self-publishing. It's also another big coup for our ongoing “Open Up to Indies” campaign, which aims to encourage exchange between publishing institutions, associations, festival organisers, reviewers, booksellers and prizes and the wider world of author-publishing.
For More Information
More info on submissions for Fiction Uncovered can be found on their website. Find out more about the Open Up to Indies campaign on the SPA blog – and if you believe self-publishers should have equal opportunities, please take a moment to sign ALLi's Open Up to Indie Authors Petition. ALLi is hoping that 2014 will be the year in which we send a clear reminder to the rest of the publishing world that author-publishing counts – which means your voice matters more than ever.
[…] you are an indie author, you might be interested to hear of developments at the Fiction Uncovered annual summer promotion in the […]
Further to the opening up for Indies campaign, I am pleased to be launching the Quagga Prize for Independent Authors of Literary Fiction. For details of how to enter please see my new website www,quqggabooks.net
Sounds fabulous, David – please make sure you send details to Karen Lotter for the Member Showcase next week.
Hi:
I have been an avid follower of Alli from the USA for quite some time. I understand your efforts for UK writers. However, you also do help to promote DIY authors from anywhere. All they need to do is send their cover and book info to Karen by Fiday of any week, for the following weeks’ Wednesday issue. Thanks.
Warren.
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Thanks, Warren – yes, we are aiming to fly the flag for indie authors the world over! And as blog editor I am always interested in hearing from authors from every continent, with a view to writing guest blog posts about national and international matters affecting self-publishing. Please be aware, though, that in order to have your news featured on our Members’ Showcase on Wednesdays, edited so well by Karen Lotter (from her base in South Africa, I might mention!), and to qualify to write a guest post for us, you need to be a member of ALLi. There are lots of other great reasons to join up with us too, as a browse through the comments on this post will reveal: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/alliance-of-indie-authors-members-on-member-benefits/
Sorry, David! As blog editor, I’ll tweak the intro to make that clear – don’t want to get people’s hopes up only to dash them. However, it is still broadly good news for indies everywhere, because the more schemes open their doors to indies over time, wherever they are in the world, the more they will encourage others to follow suit. Apparently it’s called the Swiss Cheese principle – start off with a big block, and chip way one hole at a time, and eventually there’s no block, only holes!
Great that the British audience love your books, though. Speaking as a Brit, I have to say we are a discerning nation! 😉
This is great…for “UK writers.” You might want to make that a bit more explicit. Us folks in at least the US (and presumably other EU countries) need not apply. Sad thing for me is I get my best reviews from Great Britain.