I was so thrilled to have so many great entries for This Itch of Writing's 500th Postiversary Competition. It was terribly difficult to chose, (as well as terribly difficult to find enough time to choose carefully), between so many posts which made me laugh, and think, and gave me so much insight into how other writers think and feel. It's the readers who make this blog what it is, and it's lovely to know that y'all are as fascinated as I am with the whole business of how writing happens.
So thank you hugely to everyone for entering, and another huge thanks to Retreats for You, Writer's Workshop and WriteWords, for supplying such fantastic prizes.
The winning pieces will be published on the blog over the next few weeks ('cos, yanno, this was all just a ploy to save myself the bother of a few posts), and at that point I'll say a few words about why I liked each of them so much.
First Prize: Esther Saxey for "Feeling and Thinking"
Esther wins a free Quick Review of your covering letter, synopsis and up to 5,000 words, by the expert folk at Writer's Workshop, onlie begetters of the York Festival of Writing and other energetic boosts up the ladder towards publication.
Second Prize: Anne Goodwin for "Loving, Hating and Writer's Block"
Anne wins one year's Full Membership of WriteWords,
which apart from anything else in the way of Groups, Jobs&Opps,
Directory and so on, is the place that about 50% of all my posts here
started out, as thinking-aloud-in-the-forum.
Third Prize: Sophie Jonas-Hill for "Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?"
Sophie wins a two-night Writers Retreat at Retreats for You
in Sheepwash, North Devon, where full board and friendly writerly
company come as standard, and total silence and lunch-on-a-tray are
offered with equal generosity.
Highly Commended for also making me think, and making me laugh:
Debbie Ash-Clarke for "Is it Wrong to Describe a Fart?"
Sophie Beal for "Dark Matter, Dark Glass and Anne Tyler"
Lev Parikian for a piece which will have a title by the time I post it on the blog. Thank your stars I'm not Bridport, Lev - you'd have been in the bin!
Many congratulations to all, and many thanks to everyone who entered, and watch this space for the winning and Highly Commended posts.
