I am truly honored, exceptionally grateful and somewhat stunned to be the recipient of this year's PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for Nonfiction! Last Friday, I received the call. This starving writer ate up all the glowing words of encouragement and made sure to note them. Walt later asked where the celebration was. Heck, if I know, I took down the key points.
I've entered this contest at least five other times and I still remember the sting of that "sorry" letter with no clue where I went wrong. Every year, I had to figure it out. After several years of not seeing any nonfiction winners, at one point, I wondered if it was even possible to win this award for nonfiction, but those doubts didn't stop me from entering.
In the middle of my notes is the champagne cork that I'll be turning into a Christmas ornament. I'll post a photograph after the transformation (so my editor knows exactly how I'm spending my time). And my New Year's resolution: "Burst out of the egg and shatter the shell!"
Well deserved.
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