Community news
Written by: Joe
We’re delighted to announce the winner of the fourth annual Rooker Prize – a celebration of new writers in fiction.
Congratulations to Tom Smith, Lewes FC owner and English Literature teacher from Ardingly, who captured the judges’ imagination with his compelling story-opener – The Watcher.
Tom got the idea for his winning entry while waiting in A&E (his wife’s fine, we’re glad to report). With no prior writing experience, Tom saw the prize as the perfect push.
“I’ve often thought about writing, but never done it,” he says. “I didn’t think for a minute I’d win!”
The judges were particularly taken by Tom’s talent and voice.
Tom has chosen Brighton-based literacy charity The Little Green Pig, which supports young writers and readers in the local area, to receive a £250 donation from Lewes FC as part of the prize. The other part – a session with an editor at Hachette UK – will come later this year.
Tom received his award on Good Friday before Lewes FC Men faced Carshalton at the Dripping Pan. Guy Pratt, from award sponsors ‘Rockonteurs’, alongside the Observer sports writer Paul Hayward (on behalf of the judging panel), and Rooker Prize creator Karen Dobres, presented Tom with his unique prize: a beautifully carved pen nib trophy, handcrafted by local artisan Neil Turner.
Our Sponsors Say…
Guy of Rockonteurs podcast said: “Gary and I are delighted to be sponsoring this brilliant initiative once again. Rockonteurs are all about stories and stories make the world go round so anything that nurtures storytellers is a good thing that we’re proud to support.”
Maura Wilding, Group Communications Director at Hachette UK said: “We are so proud to support the Rooker Prize. Broadening access and removing boundaries to writing, books and reading is our company obsession. We run several writing initiatives that your entrants might be interested in for the future – all via The Future Bookshelf. Congratulations again!”
Other Standouts
We’d also like to celebrate our Strongly Commended writer, Dixe Wills, whose story “Svalbard” impressed the judges. Dixe is currently seeking representation and has asked us to hold off publishing her piece, but we look forward to congratulating her in person at a match soon.
And a special shoutout goes to Lauri Canivan, author of “Evening the Field”, who received Strong Encouragement from the panel – and who might be flying in from the U.S. to join us on Sunday 27 April at the final home game of the season!
“Even though I wasn’t the actual winner, this still feels like a win,” Lauri says. “After receiving your email, I went to my bookshelf and pulled out books written by your judges or that were Booker winners. I feel lucky and grateful. Thank you so much for creating this opportunity!”
Judging panel member Paul Hayward captured the spirit of the initiative perfectly, saying: “This shows why the Rooker Prize is such a valuable concept. Anything that brings such joy to aspiring writers is worth celebrating.”
Dixe and Lauri will be attending Lewes FC Women vs MK Dons on the last game of the season on Sunday 27 April. They’ll be meeting the rest of our distinguished judging panel, which includes Kit Nevile of Hodder & Stoughton, award-winning author Georgia Byng, journalist Suzy Wrack, and our esteemed Rooker chair, Baroness Lola Young.
Enjoy Tom’s 250-word opener below:
The Watcher
Two rather unusual things happened on the day my world came to an end: the first was that Mrs Cotterell didn’t put her bin out for collection; the second will take longer to explain.
Mrs Cotterell was a very particular person. From my many years observing her, I had noticed various peculiarities in her behaviour, chief among which were the following: she always left a gap of precisely a foot and a half between the curtains in her living room window; she never left her house without wearing a hat, regardless of the weather; she only hung out dark clothes on the washing line; and she had maintained the same hairstyle (a slightly off-kilter bob) for more than three decades. Another thing that marked out Mrs Cotterell as a rather singular individual was the fact that she didn’t appear to enjoy conversation. Rather than engage in the common niceties of bidding her neighbours good morning or making speculations about the weather, she preferred to nod her head while offering the briefest of curtsies, a gesture that came across less as a form of greeting and more as a nervous tic, which, I suppose, was entirely in keeping with her personality. In fact, I never even heard her talking to herself unless you count the occasional snatches of songs (performed in a surprisingly melodious mezzo soprano) that wafted from her bathroom on Sunday mornings. As a creature of habits myself, I found I had a lot in common with Mrs Cotterell.