StoryGodmother Newsletter #3
Hello!
Hello and welcome to newsletter number 3! I’ll keep this one short as I appreciate people are probably busy at the moment!
Writing Magazine Children's Book Prize.
THANK YOU
Firstly, THANK YOU to all of you who have come along to courses and workshops, sent me texts to critique, taken part in coaching sessions, supported "#WritingCheer" fundraisers and spread the word about Story Godmother this year. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with you all and I hope to work with you again in 2023!
Thank you also if you have bought my books, borrowed them from a library or recommended them to friends and family. It is hugely appreciated!
CHARITY DONATIONS
You may know that 5% of my royalties are donated to charity for most of my books, so every sale gives back to charity (there is information on the title pages about which book supports which charity).
That, combined with the fundraising done through "#WritingCheer" has meant in the last financial year we raised over £3000 for Alzheimers Research UK, ICP Support and Tommys The Baby Charity. Thank you – it is making a difference in the world!
CHRISTMAS GIFT
As a thank you for being subscribers in 2022, I would love to offer you all £5 off a Story Godmother service booked in January (excluding charity fundraisers like #winterwritingcheer). This can include £5 discount for a critique or coaching session, including GroupCoach.
The session or critique does not need to take place in January, but please make your booking during January to claim your gift and make sure you use the same email address you've used to sign up for the newsletter.
WRITING MAGAZINE CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE
I set up the book prize in conjunction with my agent, Julia Churchill, and bestselling Writing Magazine to help give authors a helping hand in a competitive world. The Chapter Book Prize launched in 2020 and is now in its 3rd year!
It is a HUGE achievement to complete a book of any kind – it takes creativity, perseverance and the constant pushing away of self-doubt. So thank you and congratulations to everyone who entered the competition.
Although it is unavoidably subjective to a degree, we did consider every entry from a variety of angles and finally came up with a longlist.
Many congratulations to those authors. Keep your eyes open in the newsletter and the Story Godmother website for announcements of the shortlist!
Longlisted titles:
FOX & MOUSE AND THE WORLDS INBETWEEN
CREEPY COBWEB TOWER: EYEBALL’S ESCAPE
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE DINGALING
INKY’S ISLAND
MONTY MCPURR AND THE GENIE OF THE BLOBFISH
MY BEST FRIEND IS A DRAGON
POLICE PETS – MIND SWAP
THE CASE OF THE STOLEN LANGDON DIAMOND: A DOLLY RAKE MYSTERY
THE PURPLE DOOR AGENCY
THE CROOKS OF CROOKINGTON SQUARE
WINTER WRITING CHEER
Winter and Summer Writing Cheer roll around so fast! Next up is #winterwritingcheer – bringing you writing opportunities and events, whilst raising money for Alzheimers Research UK. My goal is to raise £1000 every year for this charity, which so far we are smashing! Thank you all for your generosity.
Winter Writing Cheer runs every Monday in January and kicks off on 2nd January, so don’t miss it! Historically, it has run on Twitter, but from now on it will be available across all my social media channels:
There's also more information about the Writing Cheer initiative on my website.
MENTORING NEWS
I offer free mentoring for writers in under-represented groups who may find it harder to break into the publishing industry and I’m delighted that in 2023 I will be working with two very talented writers:
JUDY WISE and RACHEL THWAITES.
Very excited to see how that unfolds.
BOOK NEWS
Finally, I have a few books coming out in 2023. We’re kicking off with magic and mischief as the third in The House At The Edge Of Magic series hits the shelves: The Bookshop At The Back Of Beyond.
I have so much fun writing this series and hope you enjoy reading it. In this book, Nine and the gang head to Beyond in search of Dr Spoon’s missing alchemy partner. They get more than they bargained for with secrets, surprises and some very strange shops...
If you’d like to pre-order a copy, it is hugely helpful and would be much appreciated. Details of where to buy are here:
5% of royalties are going to baby charity ICP Support.
END NOTES
And I said I’d keep it short... Well, I tried my best!!
Whatever 2022 has brought you in your writing journey, count every success, no matter how small. We approach a new year, full of new opportunities. So onwards we go!
Wishing you all the very best for Christmas and 2023.