Stormzy is using his #MerkyBooks imprint to launch a prize for new authors under 30, to “promote the stories that aren’t being heard, and to find the best new writer of a generation”.
The grime star partnered with Penguin Random House to start #MerkyBooks with the intention of fostering young British talent. Its first book was Stormzy’s memoir Rise Up, which was co-authored with 25-year-old writer Jude Yawson.
The new prize will be run in collaboration with the Good Literary Agency, which was co-founded by The Good Immigrant editor Nikesh Shukla, agent Julia Kingsford, and charity First Story.
The winner will be given representation by the Good Literary Agency, and a publishing contract with #Merky Books.
“I know too many talented writers that don’t always have an outlet or a means to get their work seen,” Stormzy said in a statement.
“Hopefully #Merky Books can now be a reference point for them to say ‘I can be an author’, and for that to be a realistic and achievable goal.
“Reading and writing as a kid was integral to where I am today and I, from the bottom of my heart, cannot wait to hear your stories and get them out into the big wide world.”
Entries are now invited from unpublished writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry aged between 16 and 30, who do not already have an agent. They can be submitted via the link here and the closing date is 12 April.
The winner will be selected by a panel including Stormzy, Shukla, the author Yrsa Daley-Ward, the poet Kayo Chingonyi and Penguin Random House UK’s Susan Sandon, and announced on 6 June.
