HGE Ampersand Project expands to include middle-grade manuscripts

Hardie Grant Egmont’s (HGE) Ampersand Project for unpublished writers has been opened to authors of middle-grade fiction—aimed at readers aged eight and up—for the first time in 2015.

The project, which has been running since 2011, was previously only open to YA authors. HGE commissioning editor Marisa Pintado said: ‘We started the Ampersand Project in 2011 because we wanted to diversify our YA list and publish more debut authors. We’re excited to be able to extend that opportunity to our middle-grade fiction list now also.’

HGE has published two books through the Ampersand Project—Melissa Keil’s Life in Outer Space and Erin Gough’s The Flywheel. Last year HGE announced that the Ampersand Project was not awarded in 2014 because it did not receive a ‘single manuscript that met all the criteria’.

Submissions for the latest round open on 1 September and close on 14 September. For more information, visit the Ampersand Project website here.

Category: Junior Local news