Submit your words
And get real-time feedback from industry professionals
Get YOUR words read out at the Romance Writing Festival and receive instant feedback from our panel, including Jennie Ayres, Emily Ruston, Ellah Mwale and Sara-Jade Virtue.
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The session is moderated by Janet Gover and takes place at 3pm in the Kings Hall.
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The deadline for submissions is Sunday 5th October 2025.
Slay the Slush Pile at the Romance Writing Festival
We are often told that the first chapter is the most important part of a book, both when attracting editors and agents initially and when engaging readers.
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The truth is, it’s often much less than that. Decisions can be made in the first 500 words. The first 100 words. Or sometimes even the first sentence.
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Festival attendees who are also writers are invited to send a sample of their work to get real-time reactions from our panel of publishers… find out what grabs their attention, and what gets a thumbs down.
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Editors may even ask to see more.
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You must have a ticket to the Romance Writing Festival to take part in this event. Book here.
How it works
Attendees send the first 500 words of their book – be it chapter one or the prologue – to the moderator, who will ensure all submissions are anonymous when presented at the festival.
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Submissions must be in English and the work of the attendee without use of generative AI. Submissions should be sent in a word document or .rtf. DO NOT send a .pdf file. Send them to janet@janetgover.com – with Slush Pile Submission as the title of the email.
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Once submissions close, the entries will be sent to the readers who will present them at the event.
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At the event, everyone is welcome to attend the session, not just those who submitted. Much can be learned from reactions to other people’s submissions.
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In random order, each submission will be read aloud to the audience and the panel of editors, who will not have seen the submissions in advance.
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Each panellist will indicate to the moderator when they have decided whether they would read on or reject the manuscript. The audience will be able to see at what point each decided. The reading will stop when all have made that decision, or when 500 words have been read.
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The panellists will then be invited to reveal their decision and the reasons for it. Their comments may be quite brief. No questions will be taken from the audience. The moderator may ask panellists for further details.
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Submission deadline: Midnight Sunday 5th October 2025