Stylist has teamed up with Janklow & Nesbit, a leading literary and media agency to search for the next big summer read.

You’ll be plotting holidays and thinking about your summer beach reads already, but do you reckon you have what it takes to pen your own?

In a rare opportunity to get your work bumped up the pile of submissions and carefully assessed by an agent, we are asking you to submit the first chapter of your novel and a short outline detailing how the storyline develops.

We all obsessed over The Girl On The Train but it’s time for something new. We are after a novel with a strong female protagonist, original twists and an idea that will race off the page and leave us hungry for more.

We want your novel to be the next hotly anticipated book - packed in suitcases across the UK and read on every beach across Europe and we think you’re just the right people to give it to us.

All entries will be judged by leading agents at Janklow & Nesbit and a Stylist panel.

The prize

The winner will be offered a three-month agency mentoring programme with literary agent Hellie Ogden of Janklow & Nesbit UK starting in September 2017, with regular meetings and calls to hone your standout idea. Please note this is a mentorship, not an offer of representation. The lucky winner will also receive a place on a 2017 UK residential course or retreat run by creative writing charity Arvon. The winning entry will be published on stylist.co.uk in June this year.

The runners-up

The nine runners-up will be provided with short, personal feedback from Janklow & Nesbit UK, to help them develop their book idea.

How do I enter?

Please send the first 3,000 words of your novel plus a 300-word outline detailing how the story develops to competition@janklow.co.uk by midnight on 2 April. Your story idea must feature a strong female protagonist in some way.

All entries will assessed by a panel of Stylist editors and agents at Janklow & Nesbit. The winner and nine runners-up will be announced on stylist.co.uk by the end of June. Please find full terms and conditions here.

Not sure where to start? Check out our top tips for writing the first chapter of your novel right here.

Stylist’s fiction competition: can you pen the next hit summer read?