I've just been listening to Art Malik talking about his role as a judge for the Costa Book of the Year, saying how hard he has found it to decide which book is his favourite. We shall find out the results tomorrow. I've spent the morning with a lovely author who sought my opinion on the draft of his short story collection. It was a real privilege to able to read his words. However, he said he felt like a contestant on Bake Off, waiting for me to judge his showstopper!
I'm going to the awards evening of the H E Bates Short Story Competition later this week. I have entered, though I'm not expecting to win. I'm going because it's always a good do and in previous years I've met some fascinating people and, of course, heard some wonderful stories. Do I always agree with the judge's decision? No:but then, we're each entitled to our own opinion.
I've entered writing competitions at times (never got further than "honorable mention" but thought it was good character building.) But I've never attended a presentation. I can see where that would be an enriching experience.
ReplyDeleteWhen I enter and don't win, I console myself with the thought that a different judge might have come up with a different result, Elizabeth.
DeleteThe Competition sounds interesting.Good luck to you. Yes, we all have our opinions, so you never know. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my world, Beverly!
DeleteI've judged a few writing competitions and it's often really hard to decide. Knowing whether a story works or not, and checking for technical errors etc isn't too difficult, but deciding which, out of several good entries, is best is tricky. Often personal preference has to play a part.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Patsy. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteHave a great time at the awards evening! Yay for entering it and I really hope you end up winning something!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lexa. I'll let you know if I have cause to pop the champagne.
DeleteI hope you win, Julia! Just finishing the story and entering it is an accomplishment for a lot of people. There are so many good stories out there. It's hard to universally know which one is better than another because it just comes down to individual taste and may not truly represent the whole.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great time at the event, regardless!
It was a lovely evening, Kimberly. The three winners were there to read out their stories, which were all very good - but I didn't agree with the order. Needless to say, I wasn't one of them.
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