Welcome Aboard the Lightship! 

Lightship Publishing is an independent publisher based in Kingston-upon-Hull, UK.
We aim to illuminate exciting literary talents and publish the best new writing in English from around the world.

Win Prizes and Get Published

The winners of the Lightship International Short Story Prize and the Lightship International Poetry Prize will be awarded £1,000 each. The winner of the Lightship International Flash Fiction Prize will be awarded £500. Lightship Publishing will be publishing a paperback anthology of the winning entries, in partnership with Alma Books. The winner and nine runners-up in each competition - Short Story, Poetry, and Flash Fiction - will be published. Lightship Publishing will stage an awards ceremony for the winners and runners-up in Kingston-upon-Hull in November 2012. Kingston-upon-Hull has a long literary history and is a great place to launch the Lightship anthology.

 For more information have a look in our News page.

Lightship Literary Competitions - WINNERS

The winners of the Lightship Short Story Prize; Poetry Prize; Flash Fiction Prize, and First Chapter Prize, read from their work at the Lightship awards ceremony on Thursday 17th November 2011. 

Lightship Winner Signs Publishing Deal

Lightship Short Story Winner Roland Watson-Grant has signed a deal with Alma Books for his debut novel, The Sketcher.

‘The Sketcher’ was published as a short story in Lightship Anthology 1. The voice of Skip was so captivating that Alessandro Gallenzi (Alma Books) asked Roland if he had thought of expanding the story. The answer was ‘Yes!’: there was a lot more for Skip to say.

Roland lives in Kingston, Jamaica. A former English teacher turned Advertising Creative Director and voiceover talent he read from his work at the Lightship International Literary Prizes Award Ceremony

Lightship Anthology 1

All those on the Short Story, Poetry and Flash Fiction short lists and the winner of First Chapter have been published in Lightship Anthology 1 (launched 17th November 2011). The paperback anthology will cost £6.99. If you buy 3 copies, we'll give you one free. If you buy 6 copies, we'll give you 2 free. If you buy 9 copies we'll give you 3 free. If you would like to reserve copies of the anthology (published by Alma Books) please email: admin@lightshippublishing.co.uk

Lightship Honorary Patrons

Lightship is dedicated to promoting excellence in contemporary literature written in English. In this endeavour we are absolutely delighted to have the support of our honorary patrons: Sir Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate and Chairman of the Man Booker Prize 2010; Christopher Reid, Winner of the 2009 Costa Book Of the Year Award; Lindsay Clarke, Winner of the Whitbread Prize, 1989; Hilary Mantel, Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2009; Cynthia Ozick, finalist in the US National Book Award 1987.

Sir Andrew Motion	Christopher Reid	Lindsay Clarke	Hilary Mantel	Cynthia Ozick

Lightship Honorary Patrons

'If fame is the spur, then surely, for the determined aspirant, the Lightship Idea can be a wingèd and caparisoned steed! (For what is the prize if not Pegasus?)'
Cynthia Ozick

'Lightship is an exciting venture, which will inspire and reward; it's a very welcome addition to the literary calendar.'
Sir Andrew Motion

'Lightship's excellent judges should attract excellent work, and to win a prize here will really mean something.'
Christopher Reid

'In these straitened times Lightship signals a whole new opportunity for poets and fiction writers to gain much needed recognition for their work, and is a very welcome arrival on the literary scene.'
Lindsay Clarke

First Chapter

Do you have a literary novel in you? Have you written the first chapter and a synopsis? Enter First Chapter for a chance to win the dream prize of every aspiring novelist: expert mentoring while you are writing your novel.

Imagine getting priceless feedback from an acclaimed author, a top literary agent, and a publisher as you write your novel. If you win First Chapter you will receive three professional mentoring sessions over the course of a year from prize-winning Australian author M.J. Hyland; David Miller of Rogers, Coleridge and White Literary Agency; Alessandro Gallenzi of Alma Books, and support from author and Lightship editor, Simon Kerr. Your First Chapter will be published in Lightship Anthology 2 in 2012. If your finished novel is deemed as fabulous as your first chapter, David Miller will represent you, and Alma Books will publish it.

Lightship will be launching First Chapter on Thursday 17th November 2011. The deadline for all entries will be 30th June 2012. So get writing that first chapter, and a one-page synopsis now!

M.J. Hyland	David Miller	Alessandro Gallenzi

‘This is a staggering idea and a necessary idea. It's tough in the world ofbooks, perhaps as tough as its ever been, and getting a new work noticed by agents and publishers is tricky shit. When the best first chapter is chosen, when a winner is chosen, an exciting new literary career will begin.'
M.J. Hyland

'In a world packed with courses that promise too much, and sometimes too little, it is great to be involved with an initiative that offers something different, which I hope will help new writers reach the audiences they deserve, whilst ensuring their burgeoning careers are given firm foundations.'
David Miller (Rogers, Coleridge and White Literary Agency)

'The first chapter makes or breaks any novel - this is why the Lightship 'First Chapter' prize is an excellent initiative. First Chapter will help new literary authors achieve recognition in a very competitive market. To be mentored by an experienced author, agent and publisher, who can offer constructive criticism and practical advice on how to edit and rewrite, is a fantastic opportunity for a novelist. As a publisher, I make it my business to discover and mentor and publish new literary voices, and I hope that this is what will happen with the winner of First Chapter.'
Alessandro Gallenzi, Publisher, Alma Books and Oneworld Classics