I was delighted to win Second Prize (prose) in this
year’s Neil Gunn Writing Competition for my story 'The Calf''! The award ceremony
was held in Dingwall last week, and since I'm (very) local it felt surreal for it to
suddenly be happening right on my doorstep. It was my usual gentle 5 minute
commute to get there – quite odd!
It was wonderful to meet the other winners – most of
the UK winners managed to attend, coming from as far away as the south coast of
England. (Those who were unable to be there were announced and applauded
heartily in their absence - in case they were wondering.) It was especially lovely
to watch the proud faces of the schools sections winners (and their parents) as they went up to
receive their certificates.
By strange coincidence, both the 1st and 2nd adult prose
prizes were won this year by parents of children on the autistic spectrum. The
First Prize winning story, 'Fault' by Andrew Broadfoot, is excellent – when the
hook goes in, it goes in very deep. Even
to a mind rather jaded on the subject (autism is my normal, my everyday, my
wonderful, the isolating moat around my life, my shrugged ‘so?’) his story about
a severely autistic child in hospital made a huge impact. Worth reading. I wish I’d had
longer to talk to Andrew at the award ceremony before we were interrupted by
the press photos.
In fact I wish there had been more time to talk to
everyone – it was a whirl of names and faces, without having had a chance
to read the stories yet.
It was also a great delight to meet lead judge the Scottish
poet and author Jackie Kay, someone who lights up any room. Full of heart and humour, she was hugely entertaining and engaging, projecting enormous warmth and personality. With my habit of lurking in the background hoping not to
be noticed, I'll need to adopt her as my role model.
Overall my thoughts on the day? That was fun. I’d
like to do it again. (Maybe next time I’d manage to worry less about whether I
was about to trip over my new shoes when my name was called.)
And this was my favourite bit of the day – a wee
hug and photo with the lovely Jackie Kay.
Ever backward at putting myself forward, I was the
very last in line to ask for a photo before she was whisked away back to the
airport. I’m so glad I did – it absolutely made my day! Which was already just grand.
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Congratulations Fiona! Your story is beautiful and poetic with glorious imagery and powerful emotions. It's a joy to read and one I know I'll come back to.
ReplyDeletexxxpenny
Thanks, Penny! I'm touched that you took the time to read my story and to leave such a lovely comment - glad you enjoyed it! xx :-)
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