Aisling Burke

Around about June this year I realised that the more contests I entered the more likely I was to get somewhere. Sounds obvious but I had been so immersed in my novel that I couldn't see anything else. So I went through the INKwell Newsletter and made a list of all the contests I could find and started writing. I discovered the joy and satisfaction of finishing a story and the challenge of crafting something in 750 words (if you want to learn about paring your writing down to the bare minimum try flash fiction).

In September I got an email to tell me I had been long listed in the Women on Writing Flash Fiction contest, www.wow-womenonwriting.com After dancing around my sitting room I decided it was a fluke. Then a few weeks later I got an email telling me I placed 3rd in the Abbey Hill Quick Lit challenge, not only that but I was their first winner outside of America www.ahliterary.com.

Oh, and my novel? I've just had a request for the full manuscript from a major Irish publisher. I'm keeping everything crossed that they like it.