Pulp Idol 2025 Rules

We require all entrants to Pulp Idol read the rules carefully before entering. If you have any questions, please email jenny@writingonthewall.org.uk

Rules: General

1. The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over at the time of entering.
2. Entrants must live in the Liverpool City Region: Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. Writers submitting outside of these areas will be excluded from the competition. Check your postcode to confirm you do live in the LCR, if in doubt, please contact the organisers.
3. Only one submission per entrant.
4. Entries will not be returned, so please keep a digital copy.
5. Alterations cannot be made to your chapter once entered. Please make sure you have proofread your work and are satisfied this is the final version before submission.
6. Previous entrants of Pulp Idol who did not reach the final are welcome to enter again.
7. The judges decision are final. The Writing on the Wall staff have no say over the outcome of the competition.
8. Writing on the Wall reserve the right to withdraw anyone from the competition, or from the publication stage, should the organisers see fit to do so.
9. Any entrants excluded from entering or taking part in the competition will have the right to appeal to the trustees of Writing on the Wall. The Trustees decision is final. This does not apply to decisions made by the competition judges in the heats or the final.
10. The prize for the finalists, runners up and winner is to be published in the anthology Pulp Idol – Firsts 2025. All prizes are at the discretion of the judges.

Rules: First Chapter

1. All first chapter entries must be the original work of the author. AI-generated work is prohibited.
2. All first chapters must be 3000 words or less
3. All first chapters must be written in English
4. Entrants must submit a copy of their first chapter by uploading it onto the application form provided on the website. Please email Jenny (email above) if you require assistance.
5. All entrants must not have been published by a traditional, registered or recognised publisher, self-publishing is accepted. If in doubt, please contact Jenny (email above).
6. By entering the competition, all finalists consent to their first chapter being printed and published in a book of ‘Firsts’ by Writing on the Wall, in hard-copy and electronic formats including, but not restricted to, Amazon Kindle.