Awards for authors

A total f 85,500 was distributed to writers at the Society of Authors’ annual Authors' Awards, based in the UK.
Debut novelist Ben Fergusson took the £10,000 Betty Trask Prize, while Goldsmiths PhD student Zoe Pilger received two awards for her first book - a Somerset Maugham Award and a Betty Trask Award.
Ben Macintyre won the £5,000 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography and non-fiction writers were also honoured in the Somerset Maugham Awards and Travelling Scholarships.
Maria C. McCarthy received £1,000 for her short story, More Katharine than Audrey.

Writers talk about writing

Writers Myra King (Cyber Rules), Mike Beck (Harry’s Torment) and Roger Barnes (White Gold, Lost Souls and the soon-to-be published Snow Birds), all of whom have been published through Inscribe Media, talk about their writing on the home page here at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
 

Online sales grow

The biggest four online shopping markets in the world will double in size over the next three years as consumers buy increasing amounts of goods through the internet, according to The Telegraph newspaper.
Online sales in the UK, US, Germany and China will grow by £320bn between now and 2018, expanding the size of the online market to £645bn, according to research from OC&C Strategy Consultants, PayPal and Google.
Although the growth will be driven by smartphones, ebooks are in there, too, showing that their time is truly upon us.
You can read the full article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11657830/Online-shopping-to-grow-by-320bn-in-three-years.html and check out our ebooks, from crime and thrillers to children’s comedy and short story anthologies, at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

John Dean

Triggering a response

What makes good writing? I think good writing is good writing because it triggers responses in its readers. Readers say ‘I have been in that situation, ‘I know someone like that’, ‘what a terrible thing to be faced with’ etc etc.
If readers feel like that, it means that they are being drawn into the story. They stand next to your characters, they fear for what is about to happen, they simply must know what is on the next page.
If a reader does not really care what is happening in the story then you have lost them and your story has failed but if they feel part of it, they are experiencing the sheer power of the writer.
That’s a terrific thing to achieve - and the way to impress publishers and competition judges.

John Dean

Awards for Scottish writers

Scottish Book Trust has announced that applications for the New Writers Awards 2016 are now open, providing an opportunity for unpublished writers who live in Scotland to pursue their dream of becoming a published author.
The New Writers Awards are managed by Scottish Book Trust in association with Creative Scotland and each year they provide 11 unpublished writers with financial support to enable them to concentrate on developing their work, as well as professional guidance to help them move towards publication.
Each recipient will receive a £2000 cash award, as well as a tailored package including mentoring from writers and industry professionals, training in public relations, social media and performance and the opportunity to showcase their work to publishers and agents.
Applications for the New Writers Awards are open to Scotland-based writers who have not published a novel, short story or poetry collection and have a strong commitment to developing their writing. The deadline for applications is 5 August 2015 and the recipients will be announced in January 2016.
In order to provide the best possible support, the New Writers Awards are divided into three different categories. Writers may only apply for one category:
Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction in English and Scots
Poetry in English and Scots
Children's and Young Adult Fiction in English and Scots
The two poetry awards will be run in association with the Scottish Poetry Library.
Jenny Niven, Head of Literature and Publishing at Creative Scotland, said: “The New Writers Awards are perhaps the single most transformational opportunity for writers at an early stage in their careers in Scotland and have played a pivotal role in the development of a huge amount of writing talent.”
This is the eighth year that Scottish Book Trust has managed the New Writers Awards and so far the process has proved hugely successful in terms of developing the careers of more than 60 writers. Confirmed 2015 publications by previous New Writer Awardees include Kirsty Logan, recipient of a 2009 award, whose novel The Gracekeepers was published by Harvill Secker in May, 2012 recipient Lucy Ribchester, who has signed a two book deal with Simon and Schuster, with her debut novel The Hourglass Factory published in January, 2010 recipient Wayne Price's novel Mercy Seat was also published in January and 2008 recipient Kirstin Innes' novel Fishnet was published by Freight in May.
Any writer over the age of 18 may apply as long as they fulfil the criteria. Information  can be found at www.scottishbooktrust.com/new-writers-awards

Poetry prize launched

The National Literacy Trust has  just launched an exciting new Poetry Prize with Bloomsbury Publishing! Enter your poems and one of them could feature in a poster campaign across the country. There’s also an iPad and £250 of books up for grabs. All proceeds go to the work of the National Literacy Trust. Open now, closes 31 August 2015 with an announcement of the shortlist on 2 October, National Poetry Day.
More at www.literacytrust.org.uk/poetryprize

Open mic night

The Open Mic night for authors season continues on Thursday June 25, the last of the 2014/15 season.

The nights, supported by Darlington for Culture and which offer a forum for writers to read their material and audiences to enjoy it, run at Voodoo Café/Cantina, 84 Skinnergate, Darlington, North East England, on the last Thursday of the month. Each session starts at 7pm and the cost of entry is £3 paid on the door. They will resume in September.

More information is available from Inscribe Media Limited at deangriss@btinternet.com