On Wednesday, March 26th, at Ayr Writers’ Club, we had the opportunity and pleasure to hear about some of our successes following the Scottish Association of Writers Conference.
The night started with Marion Husband, who won first prize for her flash fiction entry. Marion read her piece in full, titled African Blackwood. The story was a lovely, thought-provoking piece. The descriptions weaved through the story to an ending with an unexpected twist.
We then moved on to Ann Burnett’s entry, which gained 2nd place in the self-published book category. The book is titled A Last Journey and is a memoir of her time with her husband and dealing with dementia. Linda Brown read an extract from Ann’s book, which was sweet, funny, and heartbreaking at the same time.
Carrie Watts then read the next successful member’s entry, Nigel Ward’s Book review. Nigel wrote a comprehensive, in-depth, enlightening piece, gaining 2nd place.
Next was Maggie Morton, gaining a highly commended for her flash fiction entry. The story was about love and a secretive betrayal revealed in the last sentence. The reveal was a lovely shock and an unexpected twist, as the writing felt full of love and devotion, which made the deceit even more startling.
Linda Brown read an excerpt from her non-fiction entry, which was awarded 2nd place. The piece had us all laughing aloud at Linda’s experiences taking nature photographs on a local path. We especially loved the Scottish terminology, which made the story feel personal to each of us.
We then heard from Fiona Johnson, who was awarded a prize, created especially for her. The prize was for the best opening line of her novel, which was “Gordon had never been smacked across the mouth with a salmon before,” which had us all giggling. Fiona read a small extract which left us wanting more.
The remainder of the night was filled with different members reading their entries and the feedback from the judges. The variety of work and the imagination of the members was just mind-blowing. We were taken to magical realms, witches, fairies, and ferries. Beautifully written, expressive poems. Pieces that made us see different perspectives and humorous stories, about murders, moggies, and killer bowling that made us all smile.
All in all, a wonderful evening, full of variety, inspiration, and fun.
Jacquie Strathdee 