1.1 The Programme is a collaboration between Black British Book Fest CIC, a community interest company registered in England with company number 14254413 whose registered office is at Moseley Exchange 149-153 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham, England, B13 8JP, trading as the Black British Book Festival (“BBBF”), and Macmillan Publishers International Limited, a company registered in England with company number 02063302 whose registered office is at Cromwell Place, Hampshire International Business Park, Lime Tree Way, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG24 8YJ, trading as Pan Macmillan (“Pan Macmillan”), designed to discover and support eligible books by Black British writers.

1.2 Subject to these Terms, the Programme aims to select up to three books for publication by Pan Macmillan, although this is not guaranteed and the number selected may vary, depending on the Submissions received.

1.3 Each author selected for publication will be offered a separate publishing agreement by Pan Macmillan and this publishing agreement will be subject to separate negotiation and agreement between Pan Macmillan and the relevant author.

1.4 Authors who are selected for publication may also be invited to enter into a separate agreement with BBBF in relation to certain subsidiary rights in the selected book. Any such agreement will be subject to separate negotiation and agreement between BBBF and the relevant author.

1.5 Making a submission to the Programme does not guarantee progression, selection, publication or a publishing agreement.

2.1 Applicants must:

a. be aged 18 or over;

b. Identify as Black (including Black African, Black Caribbean, or wider African and Caribbean diaspora heritage, as well as mixed heritage writers who identify as Black).

c. be based in the United Kingdom at the time of Submission;

d. be Unagented in relation to the submitted manuscript at the time of Submission (see clause 8 for the position if the Applicant obtains literary agent representation in relation to their manuscript after Submission); and

e. have a completed manuscript. Ideas, partial manuscripts and works in progress are not eligible.

2.2 Where a work has more than one author, all relevant Applicants must satisfy applicable eligibility requirements and consent to Submission.

2.3 Previously published authors are eligible to apply, provided they satisfy the eligibility requirements in this clause 2 and are Unagented in relation to the manuscript being submitted. Eligibility of a submitted manuscript that has itself previously been published or self-published is addressed in clause 7 (Previous Publication).

2.4 Applicants must disclose to BBBF and Pan Macmillan any personal or professional connection they have with a director, employee or volunteer of BBBF or Pan Macmillan who may be involved in assessing the Submission, so that appropriate steps (which may include reassignment of the assessor) can be taken. Notification should be made by emailing submissions@bbbookfestival.com or referencing the connection on the application form.

3.1 For this submission window, the Programme is open for submissions from [TIME] on [DAY] until [TIME] on [DAY], Applicants should allow themselves plenty of time to complete their submission before this deadline, as BBBF and Pan Macmillan will not accept submissions after this time for any reason.

3.2 Submissions must comply with the format, file type, word count and other submission requirements set out in the Submission Guidelines

3.3 BBBF and Pan Macmillan may decline to consider a Submission that does not meet these requirements.

3.4 BBBF and Pan Macmillan accept no responsibility for any Submission that is uploaded incorrectly, is incomplete, illegible, corrupted, or otherwise fails to reach the Programme by the applicable deadline for any reason. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt.

Each Applicant may submit up to two manuscripts only per Submission Window.

5.1 By making a Submission, the Applicant confirms that:

a. the Submission Materials are their original work and they are the sole owner of all rights in them, save for any third-party material disclosed in accordance with clause 14;

b. they have full power to submit the Submission Materials, to grant the permission set out in clause 12 and to make the confirmations in this clause 5. Where the Submission Materials have more than one author, the Applicant confirms that every other author has agreed to the Submission being made on their behalf;

c. they have not assigned, encumbered, licensed or otherwise disposed of any rights in the Submission Materials that would prevent them from permitting BBBF and Pan Macmillan to assess them;

d. the Submission Materials do not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party, and there is no obligation of confidentiality owed to any third party in respect of their contents, save for any third-party material disclosed and used with permission in accordance with clause 14;

e. no existing agreement prevents consideration or potential publication of the Submission Materials;

f. information supplied in the application is accurate and not misleading;

g. the Submission Materials contain nothing that is obscene, blasphemous, libellous, defamatory, or otherwise unlawful; and

h. all statements, facts and matters in the Submission Materials purporting to be facts are, to the best of the Applicant's knowledge, true, and any advice, recipe, formula or instruction contained in the manuscript will not, if followed accurately, cause injury, illness or damage to a reader.

6.1 The Programme is intended to discover human writers and human-authored work.

6.2 Applicants must not use generative AI to create, write, rewrite, develop, expand, restructure or materially edit any Submission Materials other than for minor revisions made solely for purposes of editing, correcting or otherwise refining the content of the Submission Materials.

6.3 Standard spelling and grammar checking software may be used where it does not generate, rewrite or materially alter substantive content.

6.4 By submitting, the Applicant confirms compliance with this requirement. Applicants acknowledge that BBBF and Pan Macmillan rely on this confirmation when reviewing submissions.

6.5 Where there are reasonable grounds for concern, BBBF and/or Pan Macmillan may request further information.

6.6 Breach of this requirement, provision of false or misleading information, or failure to provide further information requested under this clause within a reasonable time, may result in removal from the Programme.

7.1 Applicants must disclose, where requested, whether they have previously published or self-published any books generally and whether the submitted manuscript has itself previously been published or self-published.

7.2 Previously self-published works are eligible, provided the Applicant still owns the rights needed to make the confirmations set out in clause 5.

8.1 Submission to the Programme does not prevent the Applicant from submitting or offering the manuscript to other publishers, agents or similar programmes at the same time, unless the Applicant and BBBF and/or Pan Macmillan separately agree in writing that the manuscript will be submitted to the Programme only.

8.2 Applicants must notify the Programme promptly by emailing submissions@bbbookfestival.com if:

• they obtain literary representation in relation to the manuscript;
• they receive another publishing offer;
• relevant rights are sold or otherwise committed; or
• the manuscript becomes unavailable.

8.3 Notification allows the Programme to update the Applicant's status accordingly. Obtaining literary representation in relation to the manuscript after Submission does not, of itself, preclude the Applicant from continuing to progress in the Programme. However, where relevant rights are sold or otherwise committed, or the manuscript otherwise becomes unavailable, the Applicant can no longer be considered for participation in the Programme.

9.1 Submissions may be assessed by authorised individuals involved in the Programme, including BBBF volunteer book readers and staff, Pan Macmillan staff and appropriate specialist readers or advisers.

9.2 Assessment may consider:

• quality of writing;
• voice and originality;
• strength of concept;
• storytelling, argument or structure;
• intended readership;
• editorial potential;
• commercial potential;
• market positioning; and
• suitability for the Programme.

10.1 The Programme is designed to incorporate reader and community insight at appropriate stages of the publishing journey, as further described in the Submission Guidelines.

This may include insight relating to:

• discovery;
• reader response;
• audience;
• positioning;
• messaging;
• marketing;
• events and activations;
• launch activity; and
• reader engagement.

10.2 The insight gathered, and the stage(s) at which it is used, may vary between books, as further described in the Submission Guidelines.

10.3 Community participation should not be interpreted as a public vote or as giving any individual or group a right to determine the outcome of a submission.

10.4 Final selection and publishing decisions will be made through the Programme's formal assessment and selection process and remain subject to Pan Macmillan's editorial, commercial and publishing requirements.

11.1 Applicants may be invited to Stage Two and/or other stages of assessment, as further described in the Submission Guidelines.

11.2 Progression to a further stage does not guarantee final selection.

11.3 Selection remains subject to the applicable assessment process and the subsequent agreement of an individual publishing agreement.

12.1 Copyright in all Submission Materials, including the manuscript remains with the Applicant during the Submission and assessment process.

12.2 By submitting, the Applicant grants BBBF and Pan Macmillan a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to receive, store, internally reproduce where reasonably necessary and share the Submission with authorised individuals, including any specialist readers or advisers engaged under clause 9, solely for assessment of the Submission, administration of the Programme and record-keeping purposes.

12.3 Submission does not give BBBF or Pan Macmillan the right to publish, sell or commercially exploit, Submission Materials. Any such rights must be dealt with separately in a publishing agreement.

13.1 BBBF and Pan Macmillan treat all Submissions as confidential and share them only with authorised individuals who are subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations.

13.2 Submission does not create rights over general ideas, themes or concepts and Applicants acknowledge that BBBF, Pan Macmillan and those involved in assessment may receive or work with, or may independently be developing, other material containing similar themes, concepts, settings, subject matter or ideas. Such similarity may arise coincidentally and does not indicate copying, misuse or infringement of the Applicant's Submission Materials. By submitting, the Applicant agrees that no claim will arise against BBBF or Pan Macmillan solely on the basis of the existence of similar works, provided that the Submission Materials are not copied or otherwise used without the Applicant's permission.

14.1 Applicants must disclose relevant third-party material where requested.

14.2 Permission to submit the Submission Materials does not relieve the Applicant of their responsibility to obtain any permissions ultimately required for publication.

14.3 Applicants must notify BBBF and Pan Macmillan promptly if they become aware of any claim made or threatened that their Submission Materials, or any part of them, infringe the rights of a third party, and must cooperate reasonably with BBBF and Pan Macmillan in relation to any such claim arising from BBBF's or Pan Macmillan's permitted use of the Submission Materials under these Terms.

Where a manuscript concerns health or other specialist subject matter, Applicants may be required to provide information about relevant qualifications, expertise, research, sources or lived experience, as further described in the Submission Guidelines.

Individual feedback is not guaranteed. Decisions made through the Programme assessment process are final, subject to any rights that cannot legally be excluded. BBBF and Pan Macmillan may decline to progress, select or recommend for publication any Submission in their sole discretion, and making a Submission does not constitute an offer, acceptance or commitment to publish.

Applicants may request withdrawal of their Submission before entering into any subsequent binding agreement affecting the work.

Applicants must promptly notify the Programme of material changes affecting eligibility, literary agent representation, ownership, rights or availability of their manuscript via submissions@bbbookfestival.com.

19.1 When an Applicant submits a Submission, BBBF and Pan Macmillan will collect the Applicant's name and contact details, their manuscript and any personal data contained in the Submission Materials as well as information provided to demonstrate eligibility for the Programme (including whether the Applicant identifies as Black and has Black African or Black Caribbean heritage). Where relevant, they will also collect information about the Applicant's qualifications, expertise, research or lived experience in support of a specialist or non-fiction submission under clause 15, or about any reasonable adjustment the Applicant requires. This information is used to assess eligibility, administer and judge the Programme, and correspond with the Applicant about their Submission. BBBF and Pan Macmillan rely on their legitimate interests in running the Programme as the legal basis for this, meaning that they have a genuine reason to use this information and are not improperly harming the Applicant's rights and interests in doing so.

19.2 Information about an Applicant's race or ethnic origin, health, sexual orientation, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs which an Applicant provides as described above, are special categories of personal information. BBBF and Pan Macmillan will only collect and use this information where the Applicant has given their explicit consent, which is the legal basis they rely on for using this information, as described in the consent statement on the submission form. Applicants can withdraw that consent at any time by contacting submissions@bbbookfestival.com. If an Applicant withdraws consent to the use of their ethnicity information, BBBF and Pan Macmillan will no longer be able to verify their eligibility and their Submission will be unable to proceed; if an Applicant withdraws consent to the use of any other special category information, BBBF and Pan Macmillan will no longer take that information into account for the purpose it was given.

19.3 BBBF collects, hosts and carries out the initial review of Submissions and compiles the longlist. If a Submission is longlisted, BBBF shares it, together with the Applicant's personal information, with Pan Macmillan, who then takes over responsibility for the shortlisting process, the editorial and commercial deliberations and any subsequent engagement with the Applicant about their Submission. BBBF and Pan Macmillan each handle the personal information they process in connection with the Programme independently, rather than jointly, and each is responsible for its own decisions about how that information is used. If an Applicant is offered a publishing agreement under clause 28, Pan Macmillan's processing of that Applicant's personal information in their capacity as an author is no longer covered by this clause 19, and instead falls within the "Authors and Illustrators" section of Pan Macmillan's privacy notice.

19.4 Where BBBF authorises community readers or external assessors to help review Submissions, BBBF will only share the personal information with them that is reasonably necessary for that review, and will not share an Applicant's ethnicity declaration, accessibility information or contact details with community readers unless this is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which they are assessing the Submission. Everyone who sees unpublished Submission Materials, including community readers and external assessors, must keep them confidential. No decision about an Applicant's eligibility or progression through the Programme will be taken by solely automated means.

19.5 Personal information collected in connection with the Programme will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this clause. Where an Applicant withdraws their Submission, this does not necessarily mean their personal information will be deleted immediately, as BBBF and/or Pan Macmillan may need to retain certain information for legal, regulatory or record-keeping purposes.

19.6 Submission to the Programme does not automatically sign Applicants up to BBBF or Pan Macmillan marketing communications.

19.7 BBBF's and Pan Macmillan's general privacy notices, available at https://blackbritishbookfestival.com/privacy-policy/ and https://www.panmacmillan.com/privacy-notice respectively, explain each party's wider approach to data protection, including the service providers and other third parties each party may share personal information with, any transfers of personal information outside the UK, data subject rights, and how to make a complaint.

20.1 Applicants must not publicly announce or disclose that they have progressed, been longlisted or been selected for publication under the Programme until BBBF and Pan Macmillan have confirmed that such information may be disclosed.

20.2 Applicants whose Submission is successful and who enter into a publishing agreement may be required to participate in reasonable publicity relating to the Programme, including on Pan Macmillan's and BBBF's websites and social media pages, at no cost to BBBF or Pan Macmillan.

21.1 Reasonable adjustments will be made for Applicants who require them, where it is reasonable to do so. You can email us at submissions@bbbookfestival.com to let us know of any reasonable adjustments.

21.2 Applicants will not be disadvantaged in assessment because an appropriate accessibility adjustment has been provided.

There is no submission fee. Applicants are not required to purchase a BBBF or Pan Macmillan product, ticket, membership or service in order to apply.

Applicants must communicate appropriately with Programme staff, readers and other participants. Abusive, threatening, fraudulent or deliberately misleading conduct may result in removal from the Programme.

24.1 To the fullest extent permitted by law, BBBF and Pan Macmillan shall not be liable for:

• any damage, loss, liability, injury or disappointment arising from participation in the Programme, including any loss of opportunity, income or reputation;
• any decision not to progress, select or publish a Submission; or
• any technical failure, delay or interruption affecting the Programme's application or assessment process.

24.2 Nothing in these Terms limits the liability of BBBF or Pan Macmillan for death or personal injury caused by their negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

An application may result in removal from the Programme, and any publishing agreement offer withheld or withdrawn, where:

• eligibility requirements are not met;
• material information is false or misleading;
• the Applicant does not have the rights or authority required under clause 5;
• generative AI requirements are breached;
• Submission requirements are materially breached; or
• there is another material breach of these Terms; or the Applicant tampers or interferes with the application or assessment process, or acts in a manner that BBBF and/or Pan Macmillan reasonably consider to be disruptive of, or prejudicial to, the operation, administration or integrity of the Programme.

26.1 BBBF and Pan Macmillan may make reasonable changes to the administration, timetable or assessment process where necessary.

26.2 Any material change affecting Applicants should be communicated appropriately.

26.3 Nothing in these Terms requires publication of a work where doing so would be unlawful or where the parties cannot agree the necessary individual publishing agreement.

26.4 Events may occur that render the Programme, or any part of the assessment or selection process, impossible or impracticable to complete due to reasons beyond the reasonable control of BBBF and Pan Macmillan. In such circumstances, BBBF and Pan Macmillan may, acting reasonably, amend these Terms, or suspend, delay or cancel all or part of the Programme, as required by the circumstances.

Making a Submission does not create employment, partnership, agency or joint-venture status between an Applicant, BBBF and/or Pan Macmillan.

28.1 If an Applicant's book is selected, Pan Macmillan will offer the Applicant a separate publishing agreement, as further described in the Submission Guidelines.

28.2 The author may obtain independent professional, legal or literary-agent advice.

28.3 Selection does not require the author to accept terms they have not agreed.

28.4 Publication is subject to the individual publishing agreement being concluded.

BBBF and Pan Macmillan may update these Terms from time to time. Updated versions will be published by the Programme and will apply to Submissions made after the date of publication.

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales and Applicants submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

By submitting an application, the Applicant confirms that:

• they have read and understood these Terms;
• they meet the eligibility criteria;
• their manuscript is complete;
• they have made the confirmations set out in clause 5;
• they have complied with the generative AI requirements;
• the information supplied is accurate; and
• they agree to these Terms.

If an Applicant has any questions about the Programme or how to apply, they should contact submissions@bbbookfestival.com