Welcome back everyone.

Many congratulations to our first Book of the Year Award winners and many thanks to everyone who was considered for all your great stories.

We're received really exciting from the editors for leading literary agents and publishers who provide free critiques for highly rated YWO writers, these include editors for Curtis Brown and for leading publishers such as Bloomsbury. They have been particularly impressed by some of the winners and finalists and we very much hope this will lead to publishing success for the writers. View our professional critiques forum to see the latest literary professional critiques and the stories that they really enjoyed and want to see more of.

It's been a very exciting first year and we're really pleased at all the great stories that have come forward, and that so many leading literary professionals have become involved.

Leading literary agents such as Chrisopher Little have contacted us to tell us they thought the publicity for the first YouWriteOn Book of the Year Awards was excellent. This is thanks to the great writing that has come forward, members who have assisted each other to develop their writing, and the great publicity for the site. We have also been contacted by other top agents who wish to become involved since the book awards were announced, such as Sheil Land. They and other leading literary agents have suggested getting involved with judging for next year's Book of the Year Award.


Our aim was always to use the book awards as a springboard to help find talented writers traditional agents and publishers, and give the writer the freedom to choose. At the same time, to try to promote all the talented writers participating on the site.


The first year has been very successful for new writers and the site. We're still pretty new, and publicity for books is notoriously hard to achieve at the best of times, but we'll keep on doing our best. Thank you to everyone.

Ted

Thank you, how kind.

Yes and Help Dog and I have joined a monastery since we last spoke. We are very sensible now and believe that joking is frivolous. We must get back to our book on self-improvement.

Aside: Help dog, a little more reading and then 80 press-ups.

You got a new member of staff called Welcome.

Woo, I'm confused now. I just clicked on message board not actually expecting it to be here (as you do )

Hi Fiona

To start a new topic, click the start topic button, add your message in the box, and then click the start topic button again which is below your post to add it to the forum.