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Love to Write
We’re thrilled to announce that Ella Hayes has won Prima Magazine’s Love to Write competition amongst hundreds of entrants. The winner receives a publishing contract with Mills & Boon, a £500 cash prize and placement of the first chapter in Prima Magazine, accompanied by an interview.
This is the second year that the competition has launched with Prima Magazine, with Rachel Dove winning the first competition in 2015. Her novel The Chic Boutique On Baker Street was published by Mills & Boon in April last year.
The competition judges include Prima Magazine editor Gaby Huddart, Features Editor Karen Swayne, Books Editor Nina Pottell, Mills & Boon Editor Bryony Green and Mills & Boon authors Jessica Gilmore and Annie O’Neil. Entries were judged based on the entrants’ ability to create relatable characters, a fresh author voice and delivering emotional impact.
The winner
Ella Hayes owns a wedding photography business. She spends her time photographing couples’ love stories but had always dreamed of writing her own romance. She lives in Kinross, Scotland.
Ella said: ‘I was utterly delighted to receive the news of my win and I’m still pinching myself. When you have ambitions to become a writer, it can feel like an uphill struggle trying to attract the attention of an agent or publisher, especially when you have a demanding day job which steals so much of your time. Winning Prima Magazine’s Love to Write competition has given me a huge boost. It’s hugely important to me that readers enjoy my story so I’m working hard on the rest of the book and I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that it’s a big hit with Mills & Boon readers.’
Karen Swayne, Feature Editor at Prima Magazine and Love to Write judge, said: ‘Tracy’s entry stood out from the rest as it was not only very well written, but had intriguing characters, a stunning setting and a storyline which left us wanting to know more.’
We want to thank our fabulous judges and everyone who entered the Love to Write competition. A huge well done to our shortlist finalists and of course a massive congratulations to Tracy! We can’t wait for everyone to fall in love with your story as much as we did.