Narrative Sequence
Every season follows the same sequence — call, reading, feature, recognition, afterlife. Knowing the order tells you exactly where your book sits at any moment.
The season
Weeks 1–2
The festival opens its doors. Submissions arrive, slots are confirmed and every participating author is matched to a reader and a feature date.
Weeks 3–5
Books are read in full. Editors draft spotlight copy, designers set covers into the festival frame, and interviews are recorded for Virtual Participation authors.
August 30 · September 15 · September 30, 2026
Three feature dates carry the season. Each date publishes a full rotation of authors and hosts a live virtual session open to readers.
September 15 – 30, 2026
Longlists, shortlists and the winners ceremony. Every recognised title is published with a judge citation so readers can see the reasoning.
Ongoing
Nothing is taken down. Author pages, recordings and spotlight copy stay online, and performance notes go back to every participant.
Craft
A narrative sequence is not a synopsis. It is the order in which a reader receives information — and that order, more than the events themselves, decides whether a book feels inevitable or arbitrary.
The first three pages make a contract: tone, stakes and the kind of attention required. Break it deliberately or not at all. Most rejected manuscripts break it by accident on page four.
Action then reaction. A scene poses a question and answers it badly; the sequel lets the character absorb the damage and choose the next move. Skip the sequel and readers stop caring; overwrite it and they stop reading.
The midpoint should change the question the book is asking. If your midpoint only escalates the same question louder, the second half will feel like the first half repeated.
A satisfying final chapter is almost always the payment for a setup planted two-thirds earlier. If the ending surprises you as the author, look backwards, not forwards.
Trim the paragraphs where nothing is at risk. Readers forgive difficulty; they do not forgive comfort that goes on too long.
Workshops
A ninety-minute working session where authors chart their book beat by beat on a single page and find the place where the tension dips.
A focused clinic on the turn — how to change the question, raise the cost and keep the promise made on page one.
Authors read three pages to the room. Nothing exposes a limp sentence faster than a live microphone.
How to land an ending: resolve, reveal, release. Bring your final chapter in draft.