Alysoun Owen, the Editor of the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook, was one of the judges for this year's U3A Creative Writing Competition. After much deliberation, we're excited to share the results.
It turns out that the small, yet mighty, Gilwern U3A's Creative Writing Group in Monmouthshire are celebrating again after one of them became the latest in the group to win a top award.
Harriet Hall won first place with her story, Cinderella - What Happened Next.
Prior to her win, Harriet overcame a life-threatening illness which left her in a coma and she ended up losing fingers and thumbs on both hands. Her accomplishments are made even greater by the fact that she did not go to school and was, by her own admission, only ‘haphazardly’ educated at home.
Speaking of her win, Harriet said: “I could not be more surprised and delighted. I was initially thrilled to be short-listed and had not expected to go further. When I listened to the stories that came second and third, I was convinced that my story would be considered far too frivolous!”
Formed during the pandemic, Harriet credited their creative writing group as the reason behind her competition success.
“Our meetings are informal and supportive”, Harriet said. “We are all woman of a certain age and can struggle with medical issues for ourselves and our loved ones. But Kay (the group leader) never allows us to forget the main focus of our meetings and though we do not criticise each other's work, we all feel that our writing has improved enormously over the past two years. I know mine has.”
If you're interested in entering the U3A's short story competition next year, head over to their site and become a member!
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