Penguin WriteNow 2020

In what could be described as a surprising narrative twist, it turns out I’ve won a place on the Penguin WriteNow programme - a scheme to “find, nurture and publish new writers from communities under-represented on the nation’s bookshelves.”

I submitted a synopsis for the book I’m writing (turns out I’m writing a book, WHO KNEW?) back in May, plus the first 1,000 words. The email to say I’d been successful dropped into my inbox a week ago and I have been HELLA OVERJOYED since.

(Except also horror-stricken that I now need to submit another 5000 coherent, polished words for a Penguin editor to read by 9th July. But let’s park that for a moment).

It turns out that I’m a terrible lockdown cliché - not so much in a Baking Sourdough And Getting Into Calligraphy-kinda way, but more the Feeling Creative And Inspired To Leave A Small Mark On A World That Feels Increasingly Uncertain-sort of vibe, you get me?

Anyway, more to follow - maybe - as soon as my synopsis gets more sure of itself and I stop swapping the commas around in my first chapter (**eyeroll**).