The Big 5 Winner!

The Winner of the Triskele Books/Words with JAM 2018 Big 5 Mentorship Competition is ...

Philippa Scannell!!

An incredibly strong field of entrants led to much wrangling over the shortlist. But once chosen, we were absolutely sure any one of the finalists would be worth a year of support, advice and shared expertise.

Over to judge Roz Morris, whose job was even tougher. Here's her report.

How to choose a winner in such a breadth of entries? There were narrators who were unreliable or dreaming; narrators who were hiding or tormented or unsure if they could trust their senses. Narrators who were on the brink of terrible events. They wrote in voices that were defensive, or confidential or sassy or secretive. Some were fiction; some were not. You might as well compare apples to airspeeds.

To begin with, I was at a loss. But as I read, I realised there was a common value I was picking up. It was this: the strength of the writer's relationship with the reader. It's a quality all books stand or fall by, how intimately they win the reader's confidence. Explaining this is not easy; it's more a feeling - a feeling that the author is in step with your thoughts as they place their words. Our job title even says it - an author has authority.

And so I chose Rape And The Road To Recovery.

The clincher was this sentence:
'Although I was raped, I promise never to say, ‘I know how you feel’.

A simple statement. But reader, it knows your biggest question before you've even figured it out yourself. It creates a tone, too, of plain speaking, truth seeking. It establishes trust. Indeed, you might notice a charming paradox because its effect contradicts its literal meaning. By saying 'I don't know how you feel', it proves that it does.

You might argue that this author had an advantage because the material was real experience. But that is not what gives it this power. The treatment is.

The excerpt goes on to consolidate that relationship with the reader, with facts that speak of the author's scope and sensitivity. It mentions resources, words that survivors often use, experience teaching self-defence, research beyond the immediate subject on attitudes and education. Although the writer's journey may have started from a personal trauma, this book will be wider than that, and wiser. It has - in short - authority.

All of us at Triskele Books are delighted with Roz's choice. It is a privilege to work on such a book, not to mention a challenge. This is the first step on a journey which will educate all of us.

But let's hear from the winner: here's how Philippa reacted to the news of her mentorship.

I can't believe it! I created Rape & the Road to Recovery to give a voice to the voiceless and to show that rape can happen to anyone, anywhere. Writing the book was a journey in itself and winning this prize makes it feel like all the tears and rejections along the way were worth it. I can't wait to tell all the people who contributed to the book.

It is hard to put in to words how happy I am to know that my book has a real chance of getting published now and getting to the audience it was written for. Winning this mentorship is such a huge opportunity. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Roz Morris and everyone at Triskele Books.

Philippa and the Triskele Team will check in regularly to report on progress. But for now, we raise a  glass to say congratulations to Philippa and well done to the shortlisted authors. All the very best on your publishing journey!

 

Big 5 2018 Mentorship Competition Shortlist Announced!

 

 

Triskele Books and Words With Jam are happy to announce the six shortlisted entries of our Big 5 2018 Mentorship Competition –– from manuscript to publication –– worth over £5000!

Pleased with the multitude and quality of the entries, three members of the Triskele team read each and every one before finally coming to a joint decision.

We enjoyed reading through the variety of genres: everything from non-fiction to young adult, crime thrillers, sci-fi-fantasy, historical and literary fiction.

The winners have been contacted and invited to send the first 10 pages of their manuscript before September 1st to our independent judge, Roz Morris, who will select one winner to be announced on Friday 4 November 2018.

Thank you to all who entered, ensuring our competition was a huge success. From the shortlist, I just know we’re going to have so much fun working on a great book to bring it up to publishing standard!

So, without further ado, here are the six shortlisted winners, in no particular order:

Eleven Bodies by Rachel McHale

Doll Face by Dianne Stadhams

The Legend of Anon Ra by Elinor Perry-Smith

Shadows From Yesterday by Natalie Smith

Rape & the Road to Recovery by Philippa Scannell 

Still Breathing Air by Wendy Storer 

Look out for more details soon!

The Big 5 Competition 2018!

Win a year's mentoring from Triskele Books!

It's back!

Our first mentorship competition launched in 2016.
It's proved such a success, we're doing it again.

Five experienced author-publishers from Triskele Books are ready and willing to support you from manuscript to publication, sharing our skills and expertise to give your book the best possible start.

Here's what last year's winner had to say about her prize:

The mentoring from the Triskele team has been exceptional on every level: friendly, enthusiastic, professional, and above all, so brilliantly skilful that after working on Catriona’s editorial advice, I started pitching to literary agents. Within three days of sending the novel out I received (and accepted) an offer of representation. Forever grateful. - Sophie Wellstood

More from Sophie on her winning year.

If you want to get your book to its ideal readers in its best possible shape, this is an opportunity to work with a successful team, beside you every step of the way.  

Our range of skills and services are at the winner's disposal to pick and choose according to what suits them best.

We want to help you achieve your publishing goals and we have the tools to take you from first draft to publication ready in twelve months.

And meet our amazing judge!  

Roz Morris, author, book doctor and best-selling ghostwriter will read the shortlisted entries and make a final decision on the winner.

How to enter and what's on offer? CLICK HERE

Good luck!

The Big 5 Diary #2

The latest instalment from Sophie Wellstood, winner of a year's mentorship with Triskele Books, in which she shares some exciting news!


Sophie, it’s almost a year since The Sky is a Blue Bowl was chosen as the winning entry and you’re fast approaching the end of your mentorship! How has the year worked out for you so far? 

It’s been a pretty damn wonderful year in terms of writing. I’ve had a story included in the Best British Short Stories 2017 (pub. Salt) and another is forthcoming in a second volume of Stories for Homes, an anthology supporting Shelter. But it’s the novel that’s been more or less all-consuming.

Winning the mentorship was a fundamental part of me gaining more confidence in and energy for the book. I know how good the other Big 5 entries would have been, and how close the final decision was, and I did not want to mess up this incredible opportunity to benefit from the skills and experience of the Triskele team. Be careful what you wish for!

Catriona’s forensic dissection and appraisal of the ms left me daunted, thrilled, and overwhelmed in equal measure. There was a lot to fix and I knew it would take me months rather than weeks. I am a very, very slow writer, which still surprises me because the ideas seem to come at the speed of light sometimes. 

Sophie and the Triskele Team

Tell us the truth, has it been hard graft or good fun?

Both. Although maybe ‘fun’ doesn’t quite describe some of the emotions I’ve been through! Definitely hard, hard graft. I remember pacing around my flat, holding Catriona’s editorial report, muttering what? what? really? no way! Oh God she’s right. Yes, yes, she’s right. But if I change that then I have to … re-write … the entire book … ok … So I re-wrote the whole book. Of course it’s still the same story, same themes, same characters etc, but this time I went into every single paragraph with a very different head on me. I started the novel seven years ago without a clue about what I was doing. I was writing it simply to challenge myself. Now it was time to get tough, and to get better. I felt like Catriona’s editorial gave me permission to cut the crap, to give the novel a stronger spine. And once deep into the re-write, I absolutely loved it. My sentences felt 100% punchier, the pace steadier but swifter. I added new scenes, new twists, more jeopardy, more edge, cut the waffle, cut (some of!) the puerile humour, made the tragic more tragic, made the stakes much higher. And made the happy bits very happy. I actually made myself cry with one scene, which told me I’d freshened it up enough to start feeling it properly again. (And that I’m extremely sentimental, no surprises there).

Now you’re happy with the final draft, are you ready for the next steps? This is where the whole team start working in parallel. You’ll get two full copyedits from Gilly and Liza, while briefing Jane on cover design and myself regarding blurb, strapline, etc, plus all our know-how in terms of marketing, metadata and platform.

I’m very happy with the final draft, and have been excited about the next steps – definitely needing the copy edits, and imagining gorgeous covers etc. And I know absolutely nothing about marketing, metadata and platforms, so have been looking forward to learning about this new world. Then two weeks ago things took an unexpected turn.

At the beginning of the month I sent the new version to a few select agents, just to test the waters, fully expecting to hear nothing until after Christmas. However. One of the agents emailed me within three hours of getting the first chapters, asking for the full ms. Stunned, and assuming she must be intoxicated or otherwise completely mad, I sent it to her the next day, and 48 hours later – the Friday afternoon - she called me to say she absolutely loved it and wanted to offer me representation. The evening was spent in a state of complete disbelief mixed with a small drop of gin.

I met with her last week, and was relieved to discover she’s neither mad nor intoxicated but is absolutely passionate about my story and keen to get it out to editors as is. No further work needed. At the time of writing, I’m about to sign with her.

It’s taking a while to sink in. From submission to an offer of representation in four days? I’ve literally not been able to think of anything else. I’ve been dreaming about it. I’m trying to be measured, trying to be realistic – pessimistic even - but am actually deeply, deeply happy.

That I was able to re-shape the novel into this new form is entirely due to Catriona’s editorial skills, her insights and the effort she put into identifying the heart of what I was trying to get at but was struggling with. I will never be able to say thank you loudly or often enough, but thank you - to the whole team. Thank you!

That is wonderful news! How do you want to proceed?

It’s bittersweet. I really do feel torn, and in a way disloyal to Triskele for probably not now taking up the whole offer because it’s such a generous and life-altering prize, and going by the skills of the editorial team, I’ve no doubt the rest of the package would be equally as professional and the finished product would be of the highest quality. But I have always wanted agent representation, for better or worse, and this is a chance I cannot pass by.

We understand completely and we're all thrilled for you! So would you recommend the mentorship to other writers?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

Last question, what have you learned from working with Triskele Books?

Writing is work. Sometimes it’s a twelve-hour shift. Writing is a craft, but sometimes the beauty is out of reach. When the beauty is out of reach, revert to the work. Put in another twelve hour shift. The beauty is never far away.

Take criticism seriously. Take your writing seriously. Don’t take yourself seriously.

I’ve learned – or I should say I’ve had it confirmed again and again – that writers are generally the most wonderful people. The Triskele team are up there with the very best: skilled, professional, supportive, creative, passionate. It’s been a life-changing experience to be a part of this and I will never, ever stop being thankful.


Thank you Sophie and it's been a pleasure to work with you. Good luck and come back soon to let us know how you get on. Congratulations!

The Big 5 Diary #1

In November last year, we announced the winner of our Big 5 Competition, chosen from a shortlist by judge Sheila Bugler.

Sophie Wellstood’s entry, The Sky is a Blue Bowl, took the first prize - a year-long mentorship by Triskele Books.

That was three months ago. What’s happened since?

Stage One: Sophie made the final edits to her book and sent it to us for editorial feedback.

Stage Two: Catriona Troth, a professional editor, went through the manuscript with both a critical and appreciative eye, in order to give detailed feedback. As a second pair of eyes, JJ Marsh also read the book and offered overall notes.

Stage Three: We compared our reactions and responded to Sophie.

Here’s what Catriona had to say:

Like everyone who read Sophie's opening chapter, I fell in love with Edith and wanted to curl up on a grassy hillside with her and share a glass of cider.
I loved the evocation of the New Zealand landscape, and gentle rhythms of the honey shed.

I did however have a few issues to do with the big cast of characters, and also with the book's structure, especially towards the end. There were some characters I felt were insufficiently grounded before we moved on to meet the next, which allowed them to become jumbled up and hard to tell apart. Others slipped at times into stereotype. And Wyn herself (the book's narrator) could come across as immature and sometimes hard to sympathise with.

The pacing of the novel was a little off - moving almost sleepily at times and then suddenly cramming events together in a way that was exhausting to read. When what had felt to me like the book's main thread came to an end - in a deeply satisfying and genuinely moving conclusion - the book carried on, leaving me with a slightly confused sense of what it was really about.

None of these felt to me like insurmountable obstacles to what could be a really excellent book. I provided Sophie with a four page report explaining my thoughts, plus a set of line edits on the manuscript - lit blue touch paper and stood well back.

Stage Four: Sophie got to work as a result of our opinions.

Here’s her take on the process so far:


It’s been a fairly intense few weeks. Whilst the MS was sitting with Catriona and Jill, I worked on the second novel and various short stories, but kept fiddling with this one. I’d subbed it to a number of agents who were mostly very complimentary but they weren’t in love with it enough to take it on. I knew there were aspects of the plot, the structure and some of the characters that needed overhauling – a couple of plot developments in particular really nagged at me - but I just didn’t have the necessary insight or confidence – or motivation - to know what to change, or how. At times I felt very deflated and tired with the whole thing.

Receiving Catriona and Jill’s feedback and editorial suggestions was exactly the kick up the backside I needed. Two pairs of fresh, professional, experienced authorial eyes and insight; two unbiased brains, two experienced readers. For free.

It’s reassuring to know what works; that scenes and voice are strong and affecting and believable - but by far the most valuable editorial notes have been of the sleeves-rolled-up-don’t-spare-my-feelings nature. I asked for tough, critical notes, and got them. Catriona has nailed the exact weaknesses in character and plot that were nagging at me, and it’s genuinely exciting to go back and re-work these people, what they get up to and the consequences of their actions.

There has been one major, major change (I won’t say what here) which has impacted every aspect of the story – it was something my instincts were telling me to do long before this competition, and it feels right. The knock-on effect of course is that threads become unravelled, some actions are inappropriate or irrelevant, something someone does at 10k needs resolving at 60k, etc etc, but having Catriona’s all-seeing editorial eye – I’ve started thinking of her as my virtual sat nav – means that I can trust her to see where I’ve (literally) lost the plot.

There are some recommendations that I need more time to digest – suggestions around the structure towards the end of the story, how it reaches its climax / conclusion; how it all comes together. We’ve discussed how the beginning and ending of the story are really quite different in terms of pace, and how I might change the order of events – this is something I’m still thinking about. I don’t necessarily disagree – I’m just processing the amount of work it will involve!

I couldn’t be more grateful for this support, though. The story is growing a tougher spine, and (Catriona has picked me up on my liberal sprinklings of mixed metaphors) a new pair of wings. And so have I. Thank you!

Getting to know our Big 5 Winner ... Sophie Wellstood!

Winner of the Big 5 Comp - Sophie Wellstood

By Gillian Hamer.

Among the many hundreds of entries, long-list, short-list processes, there was in the end one winner, chosen by our head judge, crime writer Sheila Bugler. And that winner was Sophie Wellstood and the opening pages of her novel The Sky is a Blue Bowl.

Sophie will now spend 2017 working alongside the Triskele team to polish her novel to perfection and hopefully see it make its way out into the big wide world. We thought it would be nice to get to know Sophie a little, and introduce her to our followers right at the beginning of her journey.

So ... congratulations, Sophie, on winning our Big 5 competition! How did you feel when you heard the result?
Surprised, thrilled, and a little scared.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself away from writing?
I work in central London, teaching English to adults - a job I love. It's endlessly interesting and rewarding, and can be hugely creative. I also play piano and guitar with my Irish ceilidh-loving friends, go for very long walks in wild places, swim in ponds and spend a lot of time looking through a camera lens.

And a little about your writing?
Recurring themes seem to be wilderness, desire, alienation, abandonment, recovery, grief...all of which sound very grim on paper, but actually there's just as much humour I hope in my writing. Life really can be absurd, even in the midst of the most dreadful times. My unconventional upbringing gave me some of the darkest experiences possible, but also some of the very best, and I'm old enough now to be able to treat it a gift, rather than as a millstone.

I've long felt that my natural home is the short story and poetry, that novels were just too long and complicated and difficult (not that short stories or poetry are in any way 'easy'!). I still feel that to some extent. But after studying for two years at Birkbeck University with Jonathan Kemp, and then later with inspirational author and editor Debi Alper, I found that I could - and wanted to - push the boundaries of my comfort zones and go for it. Writing novels is still a ridiculously long and complicated and difficult process, but incredibly exciting.

The opening 10 pages of your novel connected with all of the shortlisting judges, and was the overall favourite of crime writer, Sheila Bugler, our head judge – what was your inspiration for the novel?
There was no one lightbulb moment as such, but after taking voluntary redundancy in 2010 from a role in Further Education, I thought I'd like to write a dark comedy based around the mysterious murder of an unpopular senior manager - kind of 'in the photocopy cupboard with a bottle of tippex' kind of thing. But that idea quickly proved to have no legs at all, and would likely be libellous anyway. So I began sketching out a very camp nod to the 60s and 70s girls own-style adventure stories I've always loved, and the seeds of The Sky... were sown. In fact, the matriarch of the novel, Edith, was originally named Enid as a direct nod and wink to Enid Blyton, and the seriousness (or lack of it) I then ascribed to the story.

However, as the imaginary world began to take shape - and all writers know this mad feeling - the characters began to shout and boss me around and would not be trivialised. The darkest and saddest of themes began to emerge, and I realised that yes, there is a lot of lightness and love and silliness to enjoy in the novel, but the monsters in the shadows have to be there.

What I was always very sure about, though, was that a same-sex love affair would be at the heart of the novel, and that I wanted to create people who would be as lovely and damaged and as conflicted as I could make them - whilst still being real and relateable enough to engage a reader. We will see! I may or may not have succeeded, but that's part of the whole crazy challenge of attempting to create an authentic, fictional world.

Why do you write?
Initially out of a pure love for reading - which I think if you experience as a child you're set for life - and just wanting to copy my favourite authors and poets. Then, through many solipsistic years, I produced reams of obsessive, angry, fractured woe-is-me stuff - but enough accidentally-nailed-it moments to realise that eventually words can say exactly the right thing in the exactly the right way. Now I hope I'm much more structured, more disciplined, more relaxed, and slightly less precious about it. Writing is what I love, and I hope I can produce reasonably professional and meaningful work, but the world won't stop spinning if I can't. The rejections hurt, though - I'm not that thick-skinned yet.

Which authors would you list as your inspiration?
How much space do you have?! Spike Milligan, Patti Smith, Maya Angelou, Tobias Wolff, Raymond Carver, Nancy Garden, Carol Noble, Debi Alper, Jonathan Kemp, Annie Proulx, David Sedaris, Denis Johnson, Alison Bechdel, Armistead Maupin, Alice Munro, Alice Walker, Sarah Dreher, Ellen Galford, Fiona Cooper, Keri Hulme, Ian McEwan, Rose Tremain, Sarah Waters, Sylvia Plath, Jackie Kay, Julia Darling, Ali Smith, John Cheever, Carol Ann Duffy, Joanna Cannon, Carol Anshaw...and of course, Enid Blyton. 

What did you know about Triskele Books before the competition?
Actually very little, other than what I learned online via Words With Jam.

Why did you enter our Big 5 competition?
I enter many writing competitions - the discipline and focus is important for me, and provides a sense of structure and involvement with other writers and the industry. You know you're being read, even if more often than not the outcome is crushing disappointment! With the Big 5 competition, however, the prize was - and is - an exceptionally generous and exciting opportunity which I knew immediately I wanted very, very much. I've not come across any other competitions offering such a well thought-out and genuinely life-changing prize, and could not be happier to have won.

What do you hope to gain from the experience?
Hopefully the beginnings of a readership base, but prior to that, making the most of this unique opportunity to work closely with and learn from a team of people who are experts in their fields; to get professional advice and guidance and insight into all stages of the publishing process, especially the promotional and media-related side, which I find daunting and excruciating in equal measure.

In an ideal world, where would you like to see your writing career taking you?
I'm traditionalist enough to really want agent representation; to find the right person who gets what I'm on about and with whom I can set out my plans for at least the next two novels (the current, second one is plotted, half-written and will be finished mid 2017; the third is poking up little tendrils of ideas). I'd love to put out a collection of short stories and poetry, too - oh and all my children's stuff as well, and a couple of radio plays! But ultimately, I'd just like to find the right agent and have much more time to write.

Winner of our Big 5 Competition!

We're super delighted and hugely excited to announce the winner of our Big 5 mentoring competition today!

Drumroll please ....

The winner is SOPHIE WELLSTOOD for her novel

THE SKY IS A BLUE BOWL.

Congratulations, Sophie! Sophie now gets to enjoy a whole year's mentoring with Triskele Books, starting with a full-on structural edit in the capable hands of Catriona Troth. We're excited to have Sophie on board and look forward to working with her on this project to see her book blossom and mature towards full publication.

Your first thoughts, Sophie?

"Competitions are an integral part of my work as a writer. They provide structure, deadlines, purpose, and disappointment. My focus for years has been short stories and poetry, and this year I finally made the longlist of the Bath Short Story Award, and cried. But I want to write novels too, and started drafting the seeds of this story five or six years ago. I finished it in its current form last year - six full re-writes, 30k words chopped. Another 30k added then chopped again, and so on. Then I began the grind of subbing to agents. How competitive is it out there? Unbelievable. Everyone who wants to write commercially knows how important it is get that one breakthrough, that one ‘yes’ that might get them a toehold into the mainstream. Winning this competition is a real validation that all those hundreds of hours obsessing over words, and that the special kind of madness writers have, to be honest, is worth it. I’m so, so happy - and relieved - that all my imaginary friends are at last going to be set out in the world. I hope people like them. There are many more to come. Thank you all so much. Sophie."


OPENING PAGE
  

Chapter 1

Valentine’s day. A bitter, sunless day; the sort of London day when the sickly light does not change from dawn to dusk, a day when abandoned foil balloons float across sleet-sodden clouds, when collars are turned up and heads bent down, a day when even the pigeons shiver and shrug and retreat beneath railway arches and guttering. 

I stood in our hallway.

Chris held onto the front door, bare feet tippy-toeing on the tiles. ‘So look after yourself, yeah?’ she said. ‘Take care. I’m -’

‘Sorry, I know.’ I leaned in for a final kiss. She offered me her cheek. ‘The keys. Come on, I need the keys.’ She put her hand out. ‘Look. If it all goes tits up you can always - well, there’s the sofa - .’

‘Gosh, thanks.’

She put the keys in her back pocket, folded her arms. ‘Babe. You’ll be fine. All that cash - the world’s your oyster. The sky’s the limit.’ 

I heard a car horn, a couple of thuds of a bass line, a door slamming. I turned to see a bespectacled young woman opening the back of a jeep and lifting out a rucksack. Then a plant. Then a guitar. 

 ‘Perfect,’ I said. ‘Out with the old, in with the new.'

JUDGE'S REPORT by Sheila Bugler

(inc a mention of second place runner-up White Stock by Gill Thompson.)

Judging a writing competition is pleasure and stress in equal measures. Pleasure because it’s such a treat to read a range of good writing and discover new voices. Stress because how on earth do I choose just one winner?

I really enjoyed all the entries for the Big Five competition. The short-listed entries were really well-written and engaging. In each case, I genuinely wanted to read on and find out what happened next. Every story was unique and the mix of characters and settings kept me thoroughly entertained.

Choosing a winner is never easy. The final decision is always subjective and I hope everyone who made it this far in the competition remembers that. It is a real challenge to get the opening section of your novel just right - to find that fine balance between interesting characters and a plot that draws you in and makes you want to keep on reading. Every writer short-listed for this competition has found the right way to start their story. Every one of you should feel rightly proud of how well you have done this.

But, as always, there can be only one winner. I read each entry several times and made my choice on the simple basis of which one I enjoyed the most, which story and characters stayed with me the longest. In the end, that choice wasn’t too difficult. Although I genuinely enjoyed every piece of writing, the one that stood out for me – and, therefore, the winning entry - is The Sky is a Blue Bowl.

Written in the first person, the story centres on Blodwyn (Wyn) Parry-Jones. Wyn’s life is a mess. She’s lost her job, her girlfriend has just dumped her and ‘a glistening millionaire’ has taken over running the country. With nothing to lose, Wyn decides to leave her old life behind and fly to the other side of the world to visit Edith Flowers, an old friend of Wyn’s grandparents.

The contrast between Wyn’s old life in North London and this new world of hot summer grass, insects and bird song is vividly portrayed. Edith Flowers – a plain-speaking, booze-drinking, ‘silver-haired Amazon’ – is an utter delight. I wanted to be out there in New Zealand with these two marvellous women, drinking Edith’s wine, eating her food and watching the moths ‘batter themselves against the light.’

In short, I loved the opening pages of this novel. The writing is light and effortless. The characters are brimming with life; the description of place, the atmosphere that’s created and the smells and sounds and sights of New Zealand are all pitch-perfect. More than anything, the distinctive voice of Wyn Parry-Jones is a delight. I cannot wait to see the finished version of this novel and find out how Wyn’s and Edith’s stories play out.

Before finishing, I’d also like to mention White Stock, which was a very close second. The opening section begins with two (non-fiction) quotes from Gordon Brown and Kevin Rudd, both apologising for the devastating impact on the lives of children sent from the UK to Australia as part of the UK’s Child Migrant Programme. After that, the plot focuses on the lives of two characters: Molly and Kathleen. Molly and her son Jack are living in Croydon in 1940, their lives increasingly torn apart by the bombs falling over London and the south-east. We then meet Kathleen a year later in Perth, Western Australia. She is stuck in a loveless marriage and yearning for children she can’t have. This is a very strong novel and I hope to read it in full sometime very soon.

My heart-felt thanks to every short-listed writer for sharing your unique story with me. Writing a novel is a very difficult thing to do. It takes hard work, dedication and a lot of self-belief. Most of all, you need talent and this is something you all have. Please keep on writing and don’t give up until you get to where you deserve to be.

Big 5 Mentorship Competition Shortlist Announced!

 

Triskele Books and Words With Jam are happy to announce the six shortlisted entries of our Big 5 Mentorship Competition –– from manuscript to publication –– worth over £5000!

Pleased with the multitude and quality of the entries, three members of the Triskele team read each and every one before finally coming to a joint decision.

We enjoyed reading through the variety of genres: everything from children’s to young adult, crime thrillers, sci-fi-fantasy, historical and literary fiction.

Only a few failed to adhere to the rules, such as no synopsis, no first chapter, which, unfortunately, disqualified these entries. So just a gentle reminder, it’s vital to read the competition rules before submitting.

The winners have been contacted and  invited to send the first 10 pages of their manuscript before September 1st to our independent judge, Sheila Bugler who will select one winner to be announced on Friday 4 November 2016.

Thank you to all who entered, ensuring our competition was a huge success. From the shortlist, I just know we’re going to have so much fun working on a great book to bring it up to publishing standard!

So, without further ado, here are the six shortlisted winners, in no particular order:

A Whisper of Snow in the Mountains by Janet Wright

Crocodile Tears by Dianne Stadhams 

White Stock by Gill Thompson

Original Sins by Linda Duncan McLaughlin

Half a Small Kitchen by Su Lynch

The Sky is a Blue Bowl by Sophie Wellstood 

Look out for more details soon!

Mentoring - And Why It's Important to Writers

By Gillian Hamer


Look up ‘mentoring’ in the dictionary and the definition reads: ‘the activity of supporting and advising someone with less experience to help them develop in their work.’

This seems a perfect description. As writers, the thing we lack more than anything in our early days is confidence. How do we know our writing is any good? How do we judge? Who can we compare it to? Who do we ask for feedback? How do we get advice about publication? Within self-publishing the need for support is probably even greater, without an in-house editor or agent to work with, who do we ask for advice?

Our A Time & A Place Boxset

Mentoring can be many different things to many different people, but in writing, the fundamental need of the lonely author is support.

From early on in our incarnation, it was decided that one of our key roles at Triskele Books is to do just that. To use what we have learned over the last decade in our own individual writing journeys (and when you start to list it or visit seminars you soon realise what a huge amount of knowledge you know without even realising!) and hopefully put our skills towards assisting others who are just starting over in their own journey or are have trouble with previous decisions.

Each of us have our own different stories of how mentoring works for us.

Jill Marsh: "My Triskele team-mates have been my mentors for far longer than five years. We first ‘met’ on a peer critique site. Three things stood out – these people were excellent writers, insightful critiquers and extremely supportive individuals.

Under their guidance, my writing has matured. I’ve identified my own bad habits, built my confidence and learned plotting precision. As for getting the work out there, I lean heavily on the various contributory skills of the Triskelites. Mentoring, for me, is a question of sharing our experiences to make unfamiliar territory less daunting and a demonstration of our commitment to helping other writers."

Each of us within Triskele play our parts individually. Jane Dixon-Smith is not only a historical fiction author, but also an award-winning cover designer, who has recently been interviewed on BBC Radio and released a book to assist newbie writers, and is also the editor of literary magazine, Words with Jam. Jill Marsh as part of Nuance Words runs writing events in her home country of Switzerland, and co-produces The Woolf magazine. Catriona Troth is a professional editor, plus our eyes and ears on the ground, assisting with London-based writing events and also works with the Alliance of Independent Authors. Liza Perrat takes part in a writing community in her native France. And I have recently given a talk on ‘cross genre’ novels to a writing group in Birmingham, discussing my route to publication and feel I know a great deal about publishing.

Collectively, we’re massively proud of 'A Pathway To Self-Publishing' – our how to guide to assist writers who may be looking at self-publishing as an option for them.



A Pathway to Self-Publishing

So, for us the next natural step was to launch our Big Five Competition for 2016 #Big5 putting into place the definition of mentoring which seemed perfect to encompass all our ideas. A year working along with five published authors, skilled in areas such as professional editing, professional cover design and formatting, as well as getting the support network and advice that has made Triskele Books so successful.

Is this an offer worth grabbing? Do Triskele have anything worthwhile to offer? Well, from what we have discussed here I believe so!

Certainly life is full of choices. Traditional publishing is still a route for many to pursue, and an option I would encourage for anyone who wants to write and leave everything else to someone else. It has it negatives – the loss of control and speed at which the industry moves, but also doubtless has its positives – assistance with marketing and network opportunities.

Not many of us would be where we are today without some kind of mentoring. For some that may be formal qualifications, for others it might be physical support groups, for others online writing communities.

Personally, my first unofficial mentor would be the first literary agent who saw some spark of ‘something’ in my writing, and helped me develop the rough jumble of ideas I had into the framework of a novel that eventually become ‘Closure.’ Later in my career, I turned to a fellow author, Amanda Hodgkinson, who seemed to connect to my writing and was always supportive but critical to just the right degree. Would I be writing my sixth novel without either of these women? Probably not in all honesty.

But don't just take my word for the importance of mentoring. The judge for our Big Five Competition is Irish crime writer, Sheila Bugler. Soon to publish her third novel with O’Brien Press, her first big break into writing was via a sponsored mentorship scheme, and this was one of the reasons Sheila was so keen to payback her good fortune and judge our competition.

Sheila Bugler

Sheila says: “Early in my writing career I was lucky to win a year’s mentoring with an established crime writer. It was such a great experience. I learned so much about the craft of writing, the genre in which I was writing and what exactly I needed to do to turn my messy first draft into a final version that was good enough for publication. More than anything, though, being mentored have me the confidence to believe in myself and think ‘I can really do this.’ Mentoring is a really great experience and I would recommend it to any aspiring author luck enough to be offered this opportunity.”

The Big Five Competition #Big5 is one hell of an opportunity for one lucky author. If you're an established writer, tell someone who is just starting out or struggling with their writing. If you've been with a small press but are looking at fresh options, see if this is something that fits your needs. And if you have a book in you and want to support to see if it deserves its place on the bookshelf, take the plunge and let us advise you.

It means a lot to us at Triskele Books that we have the knowledge, skills, networks and experience to be able to offer this prize - and we look forward to sharing all of that expertise with one lucky author.

Find out more #Big5 details here