Holyer an Gof Publisher’s Award

Saturday 16th July saw me heading to Redruth on a very hot afternoon for the ceremony for the Holyer an Gof awards, celebrating and promoting books written in Cornish and/or set it the county.

It was a hot, blustery day. We had music on the stereo and the windows down the entire trip, which meant a severe hair brushing – and a handful of hair – to get all the knots out!

The venue Kresen Kernow houses Cornwall’s archives and was built on the site of the old Redruth Brewery. We only took one photo of the building, but it was beautiful and the perfect venue for this small, informal award ceremony.

Sadly I didn’t win my category Fiction for Adults: Literary Fiction but I did enjoy the ceremony, listened to some wonderful music by Richard Trethewey – a nominee in a different category – and met fellow nominee in my category Charlie Carroll. The winner in our category was Ruth Saberton for Oyster Shore which I’ll be reading soon.

I’m desperately shy at these kind of things, preferring to hide in a corner than approach anyone. Luckily, other people are more forward, including fellow nominee Charlie, so I had a chance to talk to someone. Next time, because there will be a next time, I’ll be the one to make a first move.