So what happened at the Storylines Margaret Mahy National Awards Day 2026?
I was shortlisted for the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Manuscript Award. I didn’t win the category – the fabulous Philippa Werry took out the top prize (Fangirl moment here).
But I did win the Storylines new writer’s award for an unpublished writer shortlisted for the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award.
Since the Awards, The Great Plastic Caper manuscript has:
- Had informative back matter added covering plastics and recycling, reinforcing its educational themes and encouraging further learning.
- Been edited by professional editor
- Is being developed into a series with future books covering other relevant environmental issues such as litter, water pollution, habitat destruction etc.
Now, The Great Plastic Caper is about to go out on submission. This can be a long and unsuccessful process, and you have to be prepared for rejection. But all it takes is one yes.
Besides writing the next books in this series, I have a few other things lined up for the next 6 months.
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Happy Reading xxx