A plot that grips, moves and intrigues… could YOU write a bestseller and win £20,000?

Please read carefully because any entries that do not meet the rules will be discounted. Full terms and conditions, which you must agree to and be bound by, are available online at dailymail.co.uk/novelcomp

1. Submit your entry consisting of the first 3,000 words of your novel in the English language, plus a synopsis of the rest of the plot in no more than 600 words. All entries to be printed on A4 paper with double spacing in font size 12 point Times New Roman.

2. Entries are to be posted to: Daily Mail First Novel Competition, c/o Penguin Random House Group, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA, by 5.30pm GMT on Friday, June 14, 2019. Entries received after this date will not be judged. (DO NOT SEND YOUR ENTRY DIRECT TO THE DAILY MAIL.)

3. All entries must include a cover sheet with your full name and contact details (including home and email address). You must also confirm that you have read the full list of terms and conditions online.

4. Entrants may submit only one entry. No manuscripts will be returned, so keep a copy.

5. All entries must be original, previously unpublished works of fiction on any subject or genre apart from sagas, science fiction or fantasy. Entrants must not have previously published a novel — this includes novels that have been self-published or are available only as eBooks.

6. Entrants must not be currently represented by a literary agent.

7. All entrants must be in a position to deliver their complete manuscript no later than January 30, 2020, should they win.

8. The competition, which is free to enter, is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a resident of the UK or Republic of Ireland, except for employees (and their families) of the Penguin Random House UK group, Associated Newspapers Ltd and any other company associated with the competition.