A New Reality Show Is Looking to Find America’s Next Great Author



Reality TV producers have exhausted singers, dancers, magicians, acrobats, and beautiful young people hoping to find love. Now, it seems, the spotlight has fallen on writers. An upcoming program called America’s Next Great Author is looking to find exactly what it sounds like. The show will kick off with a nationwide tour of cities, where prospective contestants will each pitch their book proposal to a panel of judges in one minute or less. Six people will then be chosen to attend a month-long writers' retreat filled with “live-wire challenges and spectacular storytelling.” All they will have at the beginning of the retreat is the idea for their book. By the end of the retreat, they have to have written an entire book. If that seems a little high-stakes, high-pressure, that’s sort of the point. The program is geared toward anyone who loves drama on and off the page, but you don’t need to have an Master of Fine Arts or a previous book deal under your belt in order to toss your hat in the ring. In fact, producers prefer that you don’t. That’s because the show is dedicated to including writers who aren’t normally given a seat at the table in mainstream publishing. One winner will receive a $2,500 cash prize for the best pitch and a prominent role in the pilot episode. The series will be hosted by bestselling author Kwame Alexander, author of The Crossover. The pilot episode will begin filming on Oct. 30, 2022. To sign up to become a contestant, just visit the show’s website.