I am thrilled and honored to announce that the first three chapters of my manuscript, DAUGHTER OF ENVY, earned a spot on the shortlist for the Historical Novel Society 2024 First Chapters Competition in the Ancient to 16th Century Category! I am immensely grateful to the judges who spent weeks reading and scoring manuscripts and to the HNS for finding yet another way to support historical fiction writers and help the genre thrive.
Organized in conjunction with the 2024 HNS UK Conference, the new First Chapters Competition garnered over 400 manuscripts from 23 countries. Entries--the first three chapters of an unpublished manuscript--were sorted into nine categories by era or subgenre; judges for each category chose between seven to ten entries for the shortlist. New sets of judges will now read and score the shortlist winners to produce the nine Category winners, to be announced on June 10. These Category winners then compete for the Grand Prize, which will be awarded at the Gala Dinner at the HNS UK 2024 conference on September 7. More information about the contest, as well the nine complete shortlists, can be found on the conference website.
Congratulations to all the shortlist winners and best wishes for the next round! And to those entrants who didn't place, DON'T GIVE UP! The road to publication is long and torturous. Believe me, I've learned this firsthand! Bravo to you for entering the contest, and don't let disappointment undermine your faith in yourself and your abilities. Write the stories you want to read, stories you believe in, stories that entertain and inspire, and someday the universe will smile upon you. My own doubts almost prevented me from entering this contest. Making this shortlist makes me realize how foolish I would be to abandon my dreams, no matter how unattainable they sometimes seem.
Now, excuse me while I go pinch myself yet again! Time to write.
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