I
came across an unusual writing competition earlier this year, in a magazine
that I subscribe to – the UK-based Writing Magazine. WM was teaming up with JustWrite team (John Murray Press) for a short story competition. I am not very
skilled at short stories; IMO it
requires tremendous skill and I find it
very daunting, actually. But this competition was different; first of all, the
reward was unique: six shortlisted winners would get to meet folks from
publishing and the winner would get a detailed critique of his/her work. What
better prize could a writer get? Secondly, the word count was very generous at 8000
words. I decided to go for this and as usual I did not get around to developing
a story till the very last minute.
The
last day of the submission dawned and I sat down for a 12-hour writing
marathon. It was a bank holiday Monday. The deadline was midnight. I completed the
story at about 10 in the night. I had just two hours for editing and it was
simply not enough. I shot past the deadline by a good 15 minutes.
Surely, my entry would not be considered now? I closed my laptop utterly
dejected. Thankfully, thankfully I changed my mind – I thought I had nothing to
lose by sending it out, even if I’m late...even if I knew all the flaws in the
writing...and I emailed the story.
Weeks
later, when I got an email from the editor of Writing Magazine, Jonathan
Telfer, informing me that I’d been shortlisted, I simply could not believe it.
I read and re-read the email. Maybe it was spam? Maybe they had made a mistake?
Such was my disbelief that I waited for the dreaded email that confirmed it was
all a mistake, and I must be “disqualified”. No such calamity occurred – I was
chuffed to see myself on the September issue of Writing Magazine, along with
five other shortlisted writers. The shortlisted winners were invited for the
promised party on August 18th evening at Hodder & Stoughton office in
London.
Come August 18th, I
admit, the disbelief stayed with me even as I boarded the train to Paddington,
rode the tube and stood before the venue—one of those quintessential London
buildings, bang opposite Blackfriars Pier on the Thames. Hodder & Stoughton is on the fifth floor,
where I met my fellow shortlists – Dan Purdue, Emma Myatt, Ian Laskey, LouiseHare, and Sally Jenkins - what a delight that was! Such diverse backgrounds – all united by a
passion to write. We spent a leisurely
couple of hours chatting over coffee, posing for photographs, and browsing
through the amazing display shelves stacked with all the new releases from
H&S.
 |
| L-R: Emma, Yours truly, Dan, Louise, Sally, Ian and Jonathan Shipley of JW. |
We were all given a bulging goodies bag – books and gift vouchers – a
true Santa’s sack!
Each
of us was whisked away for a short video interview in what is probably the most
beautiful room I’ve ever stepped into. Nestled in a corner away from view, the
Darwin room is a capsule of silence, lined with books, furnished with plush
armchairs and settees, with windows overlooking the road and river below. If ever the Room of Requirement came true for
me, it would certainly look like this!
We
all then trooped to the H&S rooftop terrace garden – the venue of the
party. London’s steel and glass skyline twinkled and shimmered in the evening
sun. Below, passenger ferries churned the dirty brown Thames with white foam
ever so often. The traffic noise was muted but relentless. There have been a few moments in my life when
I’ve thought, ‘Am I really here?’ – this
was one of those moments!
The
winner’s name was announced in true movie award style (congratulations to Emma). The biggest surprise came when our books were revealed – they’d put
together our short stories in slim paperbacks with a beautiful cover (Emma got
a hardbound copy :)) – to be freely distributed. We had a great time autographing the copies! You can read all the stories here :)
For
me, the most amazing part of the evening was meeting so many different people
connected with books – be it authors, publishers, editors or literary
consultants. Everyone was so kind and generous in sharing their experiences,
listening to our writing processes and they were genuinely interested in our
journey as writers. Iain Campbell, the
publisher director at H&S; the team from the literary consultancy
Cornerstones – Helen, Rebecca, Alex; the
WM and JW teams including both the Jonathans, Jan, Lauren and so many others
made the evening even more special for us.
I
came away feeling like Cinderella – only I did not have any midnight deadline!
As a writer still struggling to find a foothold; as a writer with a very
limited exposure, it was with much trepidation that I entered this competition.
What I got in return has been far beyond my expectation - I feel fortunate and
humbled and buoyed that my writing can find a readership outside India.
My
only regret – I should have eaten the spectacular cupcakes.
© Sumana Khan - 2016
