This is, without a doubt, one of the proudest days of my life. My book BOTTLED GOODS has just been longlisted for one of the most prestigious literary awards in the UK (ahem, world): the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Formerly known as the Orange Prize and Bailey’s Prize, it aims to acknowledge ‘women’s literary achievements.’
Reaching the longlist in Women’s Prize for Fiction has definitely been one of my major life goals. Reaching it with BOTTLED GOODS has been a complete and utter surprise, and I hope this will raise awareness for flash fictions and hybrid forms. Also, I hope this will make readers interested in Romanian culture and its magical folklore.
And I can’t even begin to say how chuffed I was to see the other titles on the longlist. Some of my literary heroes are there, and most of my favourite reads from last year. It’s an incredible honour to be quoted on the same list with them.
There are also a few people I need to thank: my family, for their unwavering support. To my writing group: Christina Dalcher, Stephanie Hutton, Kayla Pongrac for their fabulous feedback which helped me become a better writer, for being so fabulous, for being always there for me when I need a shoulder to cry on (did anyone ever tell you that a writer receives many more rejections than acknowledgements?). And to my fantastic publisher Fairlight Books, for believing in my manuscript and turning it into a book, and for their never-ending support. To the wonderful Women’s Prize for Fiction judges (Professor Kate Williams, Arifa Akbar, Dolly Alderton, Leyla Hussein and Sarah Wood), of course, without whose support of my book I wouldn’t be writing this blog post at all.
Sophie van Llewyn 