The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) is delighted to announce that its first annual Older Writers Grant is to be awarded to Andrea Hairston. The $750 grant will be used to help Ms. Hairston in her professional writing career. Honorable Mentions included Huey Alcaro, Kathleen Camp, Robin Courtwright, Bruce Golden, and Elaine Sutherland. These writers will receive a one year free membership to the Speculative Literature Foundation, which offers many helpful resources for speculative fiction writers.
The award is intended for writers of fifty years or older to assist such writers who are just starting to work at a professional level. The award was chosen by a jury consisting of M.J. Goodner, Sandra Kasturi, and Sheree Thomas of the SLF on the basis of interest and merit. Award Administrator Sandra noted they received over 70 applications. Sandra said “What made the winner stand out was good writing, good characterization, an interesting idea, and a lack of cliches. [Ms. Hairston] sent a novel excerpt, and I wanted to see how everything turned out. I wanted to keep reading, and was disappointed that I only had a short excerpt! To me, that’s the mark of a really good book.”
The 2004 Older Writers Grant was generously sponsored in its entirety by Centric Advertising (http://www.centric.com/).
Please direct any questions to Sandra Kasturi, Award Administrator, at olderwriters@speculativeliterature.org
