Anderida Writers member Michael Fleming, who was thrilled to be invited to last year’s Stockholm Writers Festival to receive an award, is urging other authors to enter competitions and emulate his success.
He says: “It was a terrific event and an honour to be recognised as the third-place winner of the international First Five Pages Award. “Novelist Mike Gayle was the lead judge, and he not only introduced the winners onto the stage to receive our certificates, but also detailed what had impressed him about the top three entries out of the field of 1200. It was very affirming to hear an experienced and successful writer describe the qualities he appreciated in my work.
“My novel, No More Bets, was the only crime novel among the top three places, with both first and second winners being in the fantasy genre. Unusually, the top three places were all taken by male writers, with the overall winner hailing from New Zealand, the second-place winner from the United States and yours truly from Eastbourne, UK. Yay!”
Michael, the author of The Fish on my Ear and Other Stories, added: “The festival was sold out with approximately 250 people in attendance on each of the three days. And the festival workshops were inspiring. I went to several. Every one of the sessions was excellent, with top quality speakers covering topics which are hugely relevant to those of us trying to improve our writing skills. We’re talking pitching, plotting, pacing, character development, dialogue, tension and more.
“There were also UK literary agents available for one-to-ones, and of course, meeting other writers in a relaxed and friendly setting, was immensely valuable.
“I’ve dropped into several literary festivals over the years, but never before attended the whole shebang. The Stockholm Writers Festival, which is conducted entirely in English, is brilliantly organised and well worth a visit, as is the city of Stockholm, which is amazingly cosmopolitan and friendly.
“I certainly recommend all fellow Anderida writers to enter their work, once it’s polished to a shine, into competitions, whether they be for novels, or short stories, essays, memoirs or poetry. You never know what might happen!”
Anyone wishing to join Anderida Writers, who hold prestigious competitions and give advice to writers of all standards, can obtain more details from Chairman Tony Flood by emailing him at tflood04@yahoo.co.uk
