I was really pleased and encouraged to learn that Sackcloth on Skin has been longlisted for the Mslexia Women’s Novel Competition 2017.

Next stage is to send them the whole manuscript (hard copy rather than email – better get printing!) and the shortlist will be announced in December.

I’m sure there will be lots of high quality work on the longlist, but each result like this feels like a small step forward in trying to work out the right path for my novel, and an encouragement on the days when it all feels like a self-indulgent waste of time.

I’ll keep you posted!

Edit 9 December

I didn’t make the shortlist, which is inevitably a wee bit disappointing, but I’m still delighted that my novel was included on the longlist. Moments of encouragement and moments of despair are all part of this mix, I think! I’ll try to use them both as I work out the next steps for this book.

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