Farnham Literary Festival has launched a new ‘First Five Thousand’ writing competition.

Writers aged 18 and over are challenged to submit the first 5,000 words of their novel with a 300-word synopsis. The work does not have to be finished.

One lucky winner will receive £100 and a literary critique of their work, the runner up will get £75 and three shortlisted entries will receive £50.

The judging panel consists of Louise Morrish, BA Paris, Gill Thompson and Melanie Whipman.

Between these judges is a mixture of number-one bestsellers, international awards, magazines and anthologies. 

There is no set theme or style of writing but entries must be an original unpublished story.

There will be five shortlisted submissions, and a further 15 long-listed submissions.

Entries are judged anonymously and there is a £5 fee per submission with no limit to the number of submissions per person.

The deadline is Thursday, February 1.