The East Midlands Free Reads Scheme 2026 is now open for entries until 7th October 2026!

If you are a writer living, working or studying in Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire or Derbyshire, you are on low income, and you're aged 18+, you could have your work read by an established literary editor for free.

Writing East Midlands (WEM) is partnering with The Literary Consultancy to offer free feedback to East Midlands writers on low income. All you need is a sample of your work, a completed application form and proof of your eligibility for the scheme. Submit the above documents through the WEM application portal, and if you're successful, we'll send your work to The Literary Consultancy who will match you with an established literary editor for a free feedback report on your writing.

We're offering two different kinds of free reads: 1) a standard free read 2) a submission package review

For a standard free read: We're accepting up to 150 lines of poetry, 15,000 words of a novel (plus 1-2 page synopsis) OR up to 5,000 words of a short story (min. 2,000 words).

For a submission package review: We're accepting 8,000 words of your novel, a 1-2 page synopsis AND a 'Dear Agent' cover letter.

ALL of the above MUST be submitted alongside your completed application form and evidence of your eligibility for the scheme.

WHAT NEXT?

Download the application form here and fill it out.

Submit it, alongside your sample (guidelines above) and evidence through this application portal: https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/form.aspx?id=d0rMJG7-6j2JW-lATPu2t-Z2Bs90kUs

For more information, visit this webpage or contact: [email protected]

The deadline to submit your application is Wednesday 7th October 2026