Lily Cole is to judge a literary contest

She said: "I am delighted to be on the judging panel for Kindle Storyteller Award. The more we recognise and support excellent authors, the more likely we are to get people reading. I love good writing, from fiction to autobiographies, so I can't wait to see what makes it through to the shortlist."

Entrants can submit their books, which must be a minimum of 5,000 words long, for consideration through Kindle Direct Publishing, and the award will consider newly-published work in the English language across any genre.

The winning author will receive a £20,000 cash prize, a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon.co.uk, and the opportunity to have their book translated.

Authors have from now until May 19 to submit their stories, and the shortlist will then be drawn up based on a number of factors that measure customer interest. The shortlist will then be brought to the panel of judges - which also includes Amy Worth, UK Kindle Content Director, and Andrew Rosenheim, UK Head of Kindle Singles - who will decide upon the winning book.

Andrew said: "I am delighted to be chairing the panel of judges for the Kindle Storyteller Award and look forward to reading the shortlist. With so many brilliant writers out there I hope this gives readers an opportunity to discover brilliant talent, both old and new."