Helen Fielding launches Bridget Jones Prize for northern comedy writers

Author Helen Fielding has launched the Bridget Jones Prize for unpublished and unagented comedy writers based in the North of England. The Bookseller and BBC News reported that the competition is managed by the charity New Writing North as part of the Northern Writers' Awards. Free submissions will open on 23 November 2026. [1][2]

The award targets the author of the funniest 1,000-word piece of first-person comic prose. According to The Bookseller, the winner will receive 2,000 pounds and the runner-up will receive 1,000 pounds. The Bookseller further reported that the winner will also receive a writing support session with Fielding's literary agency, Aitken Alexander Associates, as well as a bespoke support package from New Writing North. [1][2]

Fielding was born in Morley, West Yorkshire, and noted that opportunities across the United Kingdom are very uneven, BBC News reported. Speaking at an event for The Independent, where the Bridget Jones column originally appeared in 1995, Fielding stated that the prize aims to find new comedic talent from the region. [2][5][8]

Fielding is best known as the creator of Bridget Jones, which began as an anonymous column before expanding into four novels and four films. The Bookseller reported that the new literary prize will run annually for three years, from 2027 to 2029. [1][7]