Sunday 3 June 2012

STOP PRESS: 'Coventry Tales' has won a national prize!



I was delighted to get back from a few days' break yesterday to discover that our Coventry Writers' Group anthology Coventry Tales has achieved FIRST PLACE (hurray!) in the Writing Magazine Writers' Circle Anthology Award! What an achievement and how encouraging for everyone involved.

As regular readers of my blog will know, we brought out this book of short stories, poems, historical accounts and humorous pieces as something of an experiment last November. The contributions were all written as entries in a competition held last summer, and we felt it would be a waste just to let them go. One of our members suggested we self-published as a paperback and an eBook - and as a result of his enthusiasm and expertise (thanks, Mike) - that's exactly what we did.

For some of our members, this was the first time they had seen their work in print. We all had a lot of fun and learned a tremendous amount about what goes into self-publishing a book. I was able to practise my skills as a proofreader and we commissioned a talented local artist who brought the book alive with her wonderful illustrations of Coventry.

From the blurb:

Coventry Tales is the new book inspired by the city and the people of Coventry. Fifteen local authors make up this colourful collection of nineteen short stories and poems, providing insights from Coventry's past and present, narratives that explore the fabric of the city life and what makes it unique, stories that celebrate the life of Coventry and the people who inhabit her.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step back in time and live in the Coventry of yesteryear? Or yearned to discover the mystic powers of the Coventry Ring? Want to know what Lady Godiva was like to live with, or see the wild zebras of Binley?

Here you will find all these stories and more. Written by some of Coventry's finest writers, Coventry Tales provides a rich and colourful tapestry of stories and insights into our city.

Anyway, congratulations to all involved in the writing and production and publicising of Coventry Tales.


Downloads:

On Amazon UK: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coventry-Tales-best-known-up-coming/dp/1907670149


On Amazon US: 
 http://www.amazon.com/Coventry-Tales-best-known-up-coming/dp/1907670149




8 comments:

Sue Barrow said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sue Barrow said...

Well done to all of you - great to encourage interest in local history.

Sue Barrow said...

Well done to all of you - great to encourage interest in local history.

Rosalie Warren said...

Thank you, Sue :-)

Rosalie Warren said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rosalie Warren said...

Oh dear - sorry, Sue. I noticed that your comment had appeared 3 times so I tried to remove the top one, thinking it would just disappear. But now it says 'Removed by a blog administrator' and makes it sound as though it was somehow offensive, which of course it wasn't. My apologies!

Rosemary Gemmell said...

That's brilliant, Rosalie. I downloaded it ages ago and still haven't got around to reading it! And that reminds me I need to do a review of Charity's Child - sorry!

Rosalie Warren said...

Thanks, Rosemary. Coventry Tales is probably better for dipping into rather than reading all in one go. A good beach read, maybe? :-)

A review of Charity's Child would be great, whenever you have time. Thanks!