Club news
Written by: Jack
“I met a man at a party.
He said, “I’m writing a novel”
I said “Oh really? Neither am I.”
Peter Cook
The small county town of Lewes in East Sussex is home to many literary revolutionaries, including Thomas Paine, Virginia Woolf and, currently, celebrated poets John Agard and Grace Nichols.
Lewes FC is nicknamed The Rooks, after the local birds and Lewes castle. It has been community-owned since 2010 when a group of fans saved it from financial ruin by mutualising it.
Since 2010, the club has also celebrated football’s place in modern culture, producing stand-out matchday posters from pastiches of famous album covers (remember those?), film posters and book covers. A few years ago, the club decided against boring Corporate Boxes and instead installed four Beach Huts overlooking the pitch.
So, a literary prize seemed like an obvious next step.
The Rooker Prize began as a hypothetical discussion at the club’s 2021 Christmas party – you know the kind of discission we mean. But it was an idea just too good to not do. So it was that, in 2022, the UK’s most innovative and democratic literary competition was born.
Here is a summary of our party discussion:
Though everyone may have a book in them, most of us are either too busy or lazy to ever try and get it out.
What if I write a whole book and it’s rubbish?
Literary competitions are too daunting for ordinary mortals to enter.
So that’s why entering The Rooker Prize is so damn easy. You just write the opening 250 words of your book. That’s it.
It might be the opening to a novel, a novella, a children’s book or frankly any genre you choose? We just want to encourage and enable as many people as possible to start writing a book, to give it a go.
We democratised football, so now The Rooks are spreading their wings to help to make writing more accessible too.
The Rooker Prize is sponsored by award-winning podcast hosts, successful musicians, writers and actors Gary Kemp & Guy Pratt of The Rockonteurs, as well as publishers Hachette UKwho, like Lewes FC in football, are keen to break new ground and challenge established thinking in publishing.
The Rockonteurs is the UK’s most popular music podcast and as Guy Pratt explains, “is all about great stories, like so many great songs”. He adds: “I’m also proud to support my brilliant local club in any way.”
The winner of the Rooker Prize receives a beautiful hand-carved wooden trophy plus £250 to go to the charity of their choice. Hachette UK – one of the UK’s leading publishing groups – also offers an incredible and exclusive additional prize.
The winner receives an hour’s feedback/coaching session at Hachette UK’s offices in London where their entry will be discussed with an experienced editor, to hopefully help kickstart a new career.
The only condition for entry is that you are an owner of Lewes Football Club. But that’s easy, as anyone in the world can sign up for their single share right here. If you know someone who would thrive writing 250 words of a novel, then invite them to become an owner today!
The Rooker Prize is officially open for entries:
• Type your 250-word opening to a novel and the book title, stating the genre. Please add your work as an attachment, rather than in the body of the email
• Then send the attachment via email to Karen@lewesfc.com with the subject line: ROOKER PRIZE ENTRY, and put your name and contact details in the email
• Closing date is Saturday 5 April 2025
• The winner will be announced on Friday 18 April, and the prize presented at half-time at the women’s match on Sunday 27 April (International Crow and Raven Appreciation Day)
We’d also like to express our thanks and gratitude to Karen for overseeing this amazing project, which has run since 2022
Enquiries to Karen@lewesfc.com with the subject line: ROOKER
Please send entries to Karen@lewesfc.com with the subject line: ROOKER PRIZE ENTRY