Congratulations!
The past few weeks have been marvellous ones for writers I know personally and I want to congratulate (in alphabetical order):
Vanessa Gebbie – who has beaten literally thousands of writers to be one of five finalists in the Telegraph Novel Competition
Bunny Goodjohn – whose novel, Sticklebacks and Snowglobes, has been picked up by Australian publishers Scribe to complement her American publication by Permanent Press
Susan Hoivik – whose wonderful book, Born In Nepal, will be published there by Vajra Press under the auspice of Eco-Himal. Susan has helped so many books into life, it’s about time she was recognised as the superb writer she is in her own right, so these congratulations are particularly heartfelt, coming as they do from somebody who has benefited from her intelligence and insight over several decades
Roger Norman Morris – whose A Gentle Axe has been reviewed in The New York Times Book Review section (regular readers will know I beat the NYT to it).
And yes, they really are congratulations.
Let’s be honest, it can be difficult to watch people you know getting the things you dream of but haven’t achieved, but on the other hand, I remember something Steve Ovett once said to a group of young runners, ‘It doesn’t really matter if you win or lose today. But it matters a lot that you’re out there, running. Because one day it will be your day …’
I trust the man with the gold medals on this one. I’m running with the medal winners and one day it will be my day.
3 Comments
B.A. Goodjohn
31st May 2007Thank you, Hon. You don’t know how instrumental you have been in getting Sticklebacks out of the Magnificant 7 and into the hands of the publishers. But you will.
TitaniaWrites
1st June 2007Congratulations to all, lovely news! And thank you, Kay, for so gently mentioning the feeling that sometimes nags, the “it’ll never happen to me” voice. I too am thrilled to be running with the medal winners, and – to carry on with that metaphor – trying to keeping pace with them improves my performance too.
Vanessa G
6th June 2007Dear kay
I have just caught up with this lovely, generous post.
Thank you, and congratulations to everyone mentioned… and I recall a lunch with you a few months ago, at which we were discussing what I might write as a novel… and as soon as you left I went up to the study and started ‘Boy in the Tunnel’. A light flickered on.
Thank you for so much… and at the moment I am having a wonderful time at Anam Cara…. as soon as I get back, I have some admin to do…
much love
vanessa
PS fingers firmly crossed for your entry at the competition too…