I’m finally allowed to tell everyone that my novel, ‘Ida’s Children’, has been shortlisted for the 2014 City of Fremantle-TAG Hungerford Award. This is the nicest present I’ve ever been given, and a wonderful way to end the year.
Not long before Fremantle Press called me with the news, I’d sought an appraisal of my novel. It came back with a list of suggested revisions, a very long list. I felt quite disheartened as I read and realised I still had a lot of work to do. I’d been hoping that my novel was nearly ready to submit to publishers—I wrote about that in ‘The Final Countdown‘. Instead, it looked as if I’d misjudged my novel’s readiness, and it seemed that I still had a long way to go …
So, I’d half-written another blog post about not finishing my novel by the end of the year and not achieving what I’d set out to do. The title of the post was, ‘There is No Hurry’, and I’d written that I had no deadline apart from my self-imposed one to have my book finished by the end of the year. Really, I told myself, it didn’t matter if I spent another year revising my novel if at the end of that time it was the best it could be.
Then came the phone call from Fremantle Press, and with it a sense of overwhelming relief: they liked my novel as it was and I could set the revising aside for a while.
So, I leapt about and gushed a bit, then they told me I had to keep the news secret until it was formally announced on December 11th.
What? How am I meant to do that? I thought. I need to tell my family, my writing group, Facebook, Twitter …
But I did keep it a secret. I tucked it away and pretended as if everything was normal. I’m not good at keeping secrets and I’m also a very bad actor—I once did an acting audition and at the end they asked me, very kindly, if I’d thought about working backstage. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide my excitement if anyone asked, so I avoided discussing my novel or writing about it, hence the lack of blog posts. If anyone asked how it was going, I changed the subject, or off-handedly said, ‘Oh, I’m still plugging away,’ all the while thinking, Roll on December 11th. Roll on December 11th …
December 11th finally came, and my husband and I dressed up for the breakfast function at Fremantle Town Hall. We met the other authors whose novels had made the list, along with the Mayor of Fremantle, Mr Brad Pettit, and representatives of Fremantle Council, Fremantle Press, Writing WA, and the West Australian, who sponsor the award.
The Mayor read the judges’ report. Here’s what they said about ‘Ida’s Children’:
‘Ida’s Children is an at-times heartbreaking narrative about the childless Ida who gives her love to her nieces and nephews, the often neglected and mistreated children of her troubled sister Nora. A narrative spanning several generations, this novel is simply written and contains many moments of beauty and sadness. The novel raises important questions about past attitudes: the proprietorial attitude to children and the reluctance of society to intervene in the ‘private’ realm of the family.’
The other shortlistees and their novels are:
Madelaine Dickie, Troppo
Portland Jones, Seeing the Elephant
Mihaela Nicolescu, Other Place
Nicole Sinclair, All That’s Gone Before
If you want to read about the other authors and the rest of the judges’ report, see here.
We were presented with bouquets and then it was photo time:
The shortlistees: (L to R) Portland Jones, Me, Mihaela Nicolescu, and Nicole Sinclair. Madelaine Dickie was unable to be there.
With the Mayor, Fremantle Council Members, and the Board of Fremantle Press
With the Mayor
And now we wait until the winner is announced in February …
The shortlisting has given me hope that one day Ida’s Children might be published. For three years I’ve been up here in my attic, working on this novel, alone with my thoughts and my story and my characters. This might sound weird, but I love my novel as if it were my child, albeit a demanding and time-consuming one. Its world is real to me, and I love the characters as if they are living beings. I even love the flawed ones.
I’ve told myself many times that it doesn’t matter if my novel isn’t any good, or if no one reads it, or if those who read it don’t like it, because I love it and it’s the story I want to tell.
But, if I’m completely honest, I do hope that it’s good enough to be read.
I know it still needs work, and I know this is just a shortlisting and not a win, but it’s validation. Validation that my story is on the right track, and validation for me as a writer. Finally, I feel as if I’ve earned the right to say, ‘I am a writer’.
Doesn’t sound weird at all to see your novel as your fifth child, Louise. You’re in good company because Jane Austen was known to talk about her novels in similar terms.
Anyhow, congratulations on the shorlisting. I’ll have my fingers crossed for you – but think that really, you have already won by being shortlisted.
Thanks, Sue. I don’t know how anyone can write a novel without living in its world. The more I immersed myself in my character’s world, and saw what was happening as if I were them, the easier it was to write. That’s why residencies are so important—they give a writer the opportunity to live in the world of their novel, surrounded by their characters. It’s also why being a mother makes it hard—kids have a habit of pulling a writer out of their novel-writing world and back into reality! Having said that, there are many scenes in my novel that I doubt I could have written if I weren’t a mother. Like the childbirth scenes, for example!
Congratulations Louise! What a great achievement, I’m so pleased for you 🙂 And you’re right, persistence is key when we are writers – that plus a belief in our work and what we do are so important to our writing success. Why shouldn’t your book be published? It sounds fantastic, I know I’m looking forward to seeing it in print xx
Thanks, Helen. I think persistence is absolutely key to writing a novel. Persistence and all that it means—making yourself write when you don’t want to; opening yourself up to learning how to write better; taking criticism and rejection, and still plugging on. And I think being authentic is key, too—writing that is honest and comes from the core is always very powerful.
What a great Christmas present! I am so happy for you and know how hard you have worked on that 5th child. You are, no doubt, walling 10 feet off the ground. A great way to end 2014 and an extremely auspicious way to start 2015. You are definitely on your way. I want an autographed copy the minute you have copies to autograph. Congratulations my friend.
Thanks, Betty. If it’s ever published, an autographed copy will be on its way to Florida! 🙂
I am so excited for you, can’t wait till you are published. Congratulations Louise, still bragging I know you xxx
Thanks, Rae! You’re a great friend. 🙂
You should be very proud of yourself Louise! Congratulations! It’s wonderful news. I can not wait to read it when it is published. I will be buying an autographed copy directly from the author too (I hope).
Thanks, Pinky! When I start querying publishers, maybe I should include the list of people who want to buy my book, and say, See, it’s already sold x number of copies! 🙂
I would be so thrilled if you won, Louise. It’s such a life-changing award. And you’re right, just the affirmation of being short-listed is a very powerful thing for a writer. We need those affirmations to keep us going. I can’t wait for the day when you can sign a copy of Ida’s Children for me. x
Thanks Natasha! I can see how winning this award would be a life changer for a writer! And you’re right about needing affirmations, just one or two here and there to keep us going. Thanks for visiting.
I am so pleased for you Louise. The writing life can sometimes feel as though it is filled with setbacks, and a boost like this is what we need to keep going. A great end to a year in which I know you’ve worked very hard. Well done!
Thanks, Annabel. It’s been a great boost, however I haven’t reached the finish line yet! 🙂