Costa Joy

Room To Write and Read is delighted to announce that North East writer, our associate Avril Joy, has been named as the winner of the Costa Short Story Award for her short story Millie and Bird. 

Avril Joy - winner of the Costa Short Story Award

Costa Short Story Award - Over 1800 entries were received in this new competition, open to both published and non-published writers, for a single, previously-unpublished short story of up to 4,000 words by an author aged 18 years or over and written in English. 

The identities of the winner of the Short Story Award and the two runners-up, together with the overall Costa Book of the Year winner, were announced at the Costa Book Awards ceremony in London on Tuesday, 29^th January.

 Extract from Millie and Bird by Avril Joy

"It was the kind of summer when the grass grew too long to cut and your toes stubbed at the damp end of your trainers, the summer I was sixteen. It rained all through May and June. It rained on my birthday. It never let up and the weeds in the yard grew taller than the gate post. Jonty Angel, our next-door neighbour, gave Millie the bird that summer, a white zebra finch, and she spent all her time coaxing it onto her shoulder, whispering to it and feeding it titbits. He gave her a cage too and she put it in her bedroom out of harm’s way. It was the summer of Bird, it was the summer I fell in love..."

Hilary Mantel won the overall Costa Book of the Year Award - see Wendy's commentary at the Reviews and Commentaries tab

Stop Press:

See 'Reviews and Commentaries'  tab above for 

Wendy's comment on Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies

Celebrate with us !

RoomToWrite's own Avril Joy shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award..

 

 

Costa Short Story Award - a brand new award for a single short story, run in conjunction with the Costa Book Awards, and judged both anonymously and independently of the five main category system.

Over 1800 entries were received in this new competition, open to both published and non-published writers, for a single, previously-unpublished short story of up to 4,000 words by an author aged 18 years or over and written in English.

The six anonymous, shortlisted stories were available for the public to download, read and vote for from the end of November 2012. Voting closed at 12 noon yesterday, Wednesday, 23^rd January

North East writer, Avril Joy, has today been named as one of the six short-listed writers for her short story Millie and Bird.

The identities of the winner of the Costa Short Story Award and the two runners-up, together with the overall Costa Book of the Year winner, will be announced at the Costa Book Awards ceremony in London on Tuesday, 29^th January.

Extract from Millie and Bird by Avril Joy

"It was the kind of summer when the grass grew too long to cut and your toes stubbed at the damp end of your trainers, the summer I was sixteen. It rained all through May and June. It rained on my birthday. It never let up and the weeds in the yard grew taller than the gate post. Jonty Angel, our next-door neighbour, gave Millie the bird that summer, a white zebra finch, and she spent all her time coaxing it onto her shoulder, whispering to it and feeding it titbits. He gave her a cage too and she put it in her bedroom out of harm’s way. It was the summer of Bird, it was the summer I fell in love..."

Discover more about Avril on her blog 

or her novel Blood Tide

All entries were judged by a panel  of five:-

Richard Beard, Director of the National Academy of Writers

Fanny Blake, novelist, journalist and Books Editor of Women and Home

Gary Kemp, actor, writer and Spandau Ballet guitarist

Victoria Hislop, best-selling novelist

 

Sincere Congratulations to Avril - fingers crossed for the 29th January.

Stop Press: Calling all short story writers and readers...

The Costa Book Awards started life in 1971 as the Whitbread Literary Awards. From 1985 they were known as the Whitbread Book Awards until 2006, when Costa Coffee took over ownership from Whitbread.

The Costa Book Awards is one of the UK's most prestigious and popular literary prizes and recognises some of the most enjoyable books of the year by writers based in the UK and Ireland.
It's unique for having five categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book.

The winner in each category receives £5,000, and then one of the five winning books is selected as the overall Costa Book of the Year, receiving a further £30,000, and making a total prize fund of £55,000. The Costa is the only prize which places children's books alongside adult books in this way.

New for 2012, the Costa Short Story Award was announced. This is an award for a single story and was not be voted for against the other categories. Over 1800 entries were received, all of which were judged anonymously. The six shortlisted stories were available for the public to download, read and vote for from the end of November 2012.

Voting closed at 12 noon today, Wednesday, 23^rd January.

The six anonymous stories are:-
Dislocation
Don’t Try This At Home
Millie and Bird
Mown Grass
Small Town Removal
Trompette de la Morte

Hopefully, you will have download the six stories and voted for your favourite.

The winner of the Short Story Award, together with the overall Costa Book of the Year winner, will be announced at the Costa Book Awards ceremony in London on Tuesday, 29^th January.