Novel Slam 2026

Novel Slam 2026 is on at Sheffield Plate on Friday 20 November, from 7pm to 11pm. It's a night for aspiring novelists to pitch their books to a supportive audience and a panel of industry judges, with epic prizes on the line. The whole thing is run by The Writers Workshop, a Sheffield-based organisation that puts on in-person workshops, classes and social events for writers of all backgrounds, with a focus on community, creativity, craft and careers.

If you're taking part, you'll need two things ready: a 60-second pitch and a three-minute extract, ideally the opening of your novel. The audience then votes on who makes it through to Round 2. The judges and the prizes themselves are still to be announced, so that part is still under wraps for now.

It's worth knowing a bit more about the people behind it. The Writers Workshop does a fair amount of work across the city, and one of their regular fixtures is Weird Weekend, an annual programme of fun, have-a-go magic and fantasy-themed creative-writing workshops. The founder, Beverley Ward, also runs writing-for-wellbeing sessions, including the Sunday Soul Sessions. If you've been to any of those, you'll know the kind of thing they do: low-pressure, community-focused, and open to writers at any stage.

So, if you've got a novel in progress and want to see how it lands in front of a room, this is your chance to get it out there. The venue is Sheffield Plate, 31-33 Orchard Square in the city centre, S1 2FB. It runs from 7pm to 11pm on Friday 20 November, and tickets are £10 for participants and £5 for audience members.