Friday 17 August 2012

Coming second

Still no news. I'm now so tired and stressed I got a weird dizziness last night which made me feel sick. However...a house full of guests keeps me distracted and I got an email from the Yeovil prize about A Baby's Bones:
Second Place: A Baby's Bones - an excellent, richly imagined and deftly plotted story that keeps revealing new layers as it progresses. The weaving together of present and past is expertly done, and the authorial voice is confident and sophisticated.  All the different elements are woven together perfectly here: story, character development, setting and atmosphere.” 
This from the judges, which included Sophie Hannah! And they are going to send me a cheque for £250...it seems to be my year for coming second but out of a thousand entries, I'm getting there! Now all I have to do is get on and write the remaining 12k of the book and take a breath. Hopefully I'll hear from my agent in the next week or so.

PS She will follow the editors up on Monday - I can stop worrying over the weekend. Not that I'm that worried now, more resigned, and excited about the new book!

7 comments:

  1. Well done, Reb - 2nd prize is fantastic. Yeovil is a tough nut to crack, my short story didn't get anywhere there this year (or any year I've entered...)

    Fingers crossed for some good news from your agent soon.

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  2. Congratulations! I've met Sophie Hannah, she's lovely.

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    1. She's one of my favourite people today, and I haven't even met her.

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  3. There's nothing wrong with second place out of thousands. That's awesome!

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  4. Fantastic news, congratulations, and fingers crossed for more good news next week!

    (I'm still waiting too, and know exactly how you feel).

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