The elusive writing successes (mini edition)

The end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 have brought tiny (but much loved) successes into my writing life. They’re so rare that I can’t help but celebrate them. This feeling is especially keen because writing can be such a lonely and myopic experience. While toiling away in notebooks and on my laptop, I often struggle to see the end. By that I mean, is what I’m working on a load of garbage?

So, I’m very pleased that my literary folk horror/high concept mystery manuscript has received attention:

• December 2022: I won the BPA Pitch Prize judged by agent Hattie Grünewald

• November 2022: I was granted a bursary via Arts Council England as part of the Free Reads Scheme

Additionally, I received a grant from the Arvon Foundation for later this spring. This is for my new work, a gothic/folk horror sort of crossover set at an all-girls’ school in rural Wales.