The Irish Writers Centre International Debut Novel Competition is an annual literary competition that awards twelve unpublished novelists with the opportunity to pitch their novels to leading publishers and literary agents.
We all know the path to publication can feel bewildering and mysterious. The International Debut Novel Competition’s mission is to facilitate first encounters between aspiring novelists and members of the publishing industry. During two Pitch Days, (10 and 11 September) the 12 winners are given the opportunity to skip the queue and pitch their novels face-to-face or zoom-to-zoom to publishers and agents.
In the past, the competition has been attended by representatives from: ?Bonnier Books, Hachette Books, Lilliput Press, Penguin Random House, New Island Books, époque, Viking (Penguin), Poolbeg, Curtis Brown, Storyline Lit Agency, The Book Bureau Literary Agency, The Lisa Richards Agency, Greene & Heaton, Rye Literary Agency, United Talent, Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, David Higham Agency, The Bent Agency, Fitzcarraldo Editions, Saga Egmont, Galley Beggar Press, Hamish Hamilton, John Murray Press, Lexington Literary, Aitken Alexander, Johnson & Alcock?and many others.
Entry fee: €65 / Irish Writers Centre members €58.50 / 10 free entries for student / unwaged or senior.
Find out more
here
Deadline: 5pm, 8 May 2026