Booker Debate and Yeovil Prize

Last night the Booker Debate took place at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil, and as always the evening was a huge success. But for me it was particularly special since I was presented with my prize by crime writer Penny Deacon. The prize is the Western Gazette award which is awarded to a local author who does particularly well in the Yeovil Prize. In my case my novel, "Myth Making" was Highly Commended and my short story "Remember Normandy" was Commended.
The evening then went on to the Booker debate itself with a panel of writers reviewing the shortlisted novels. In the past years most of the books have been slated by the reviwers but this year three of them got a big thumbs up: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Berry and A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz. It will be interesting to see if one of these wins. Here is local author Malcolm Welshman reviewing Fraction of the Whole watched by Rosie Boycott and Penny Deacon.
And finally, there were a number of fellow Litopians present and here's a picture of three of us: Steve, me and Emma. Three people who met in cyberspace.