I've been sitting on this news for weeks and weeks, waiting (im)patiently for the anonymous public voting to close and the author names to be announced. But now I can finally reveal that my story 'Red' has been shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award!
When I first found out I was stunned. I sat at my desk, reading and re-reading the letter, muttering 'Oh my god, oh my god' at the computer screen with my hands over my face!
I still can't really believe it, in fact it probably won't sink in until I arrive at the Costa Book Awards ceremony on 29th January.
I hardly wrote any new stories last year, as I was busy editing/promoting my flash fiction collection, Brightly Coloured Horses (Chapeltown Books), and my short story collection, Separated From the Sea (Retreat West Books) - as well as concentrating on my poetry collection and the beginnings of a novella. So 'Red' was one of only two short stories that I wrote in 2018, alongside a handful of flash fiction pieces and a lone travel article.
The story had already been entered in a couple of competitions and subbed to two magazines with no success. However it was a story I believed in and I was a long way from giving up on it. And now it has done better than I could ever have hoped!
I'm really looking forward to the awards, and mingling with all the fabulous writers on this year's shortlists - though I know I'll be a little bit terrified on the night!
No comments:
Post a Comment