Alison Wells Author

Yesterday was an amazing day. I opened my email and discovered that I had been shortlisted by the Words on the Street Publishers for their inaugural WOW! awards for my comedy story Sad about the Plumbers Uncle. My story is now included in the WOW! anthology. The winners of the award will be announced on April 30th in the Galway Bay Hotel, Salthill.

Thrilled and excited I shared the news with my nearest and dearest and my supportive writing buddies. Later in the day I clicked on my email again to discover another email. This time from the prestigious Fish prize organisers who announced that my entry ‘All that Thinking’ had been placed out of 1,800 entries on a shortlist of 140. This thrilling and totally unexpected development sent me into a spin of euphoria.The winners will be announced on March 17th but inclusion on the shortlist is a terrific honour.

I have concentrated on writing short stories over the past year and a half and I have seen their development over this period. I enjoy what I write at the time but can also see when I have reached a new level in terms of subtlety or layering, character or just being a well rounded story. Being shortlisted lends credence to my belief that my writing is strengthening and it means a lot to know that it is being enjoyed by others.

Back in August I enjoyed the first taste of shortlisted joy. A short story ‘Bog Body‘ was published in the Sunday Tribune and thus qualifiies for entry into the Hennessy XO Literary Awards for New Irish Writing. The results will be announced in April.

2010 has already turned out to be a thrilling and encouraging year in my literary journey. It may indeed be a tipping point, happening as they do, often without warning, dramatically and all at once.