Will debut by grandmother, 70, win literary gong?
THE cliche holds that we all have a book in us. And for some, it may take time.
But as 70-year-old grandmother Anne Youngson proves, critical success can come to those who wait – for her debut novel has been shortlisted for a major literary prize.
Meet Me At The Museum, aptly described by publisher Penguin as a ‘story of late love and second chances’, has made the shortlist in the Costa Book Awards’ first novel category.
A retired executive who held high-powered roles for firms including Land Rover, Mrs Youngson said she was aware she was busting myths about what a debut novelist should look like – being neither ‘gorgeous and 25’ nor writing ‘from misery’.
Mrs Youngson, from Oxford, said: ‘There’s a myth that you can’t get published unless you’re gorgeous and 25, which I clearly challenge.
‘I’ve had a very fortunate life. I also explode the myth that you have to write out of misery, or that you need to have a terrible relationship with your parents, or a major tragedy.’
The mother-of-two said writing had always been a hobby, but it was fear of disappointment that had kept her from pursuing opportunities to publish her work.
Mrs Youngson, who writes long-hand before typing up notes, is studying for a PhD in creative writing at Oxford Brookes University.
It was her tutor there who persuaded her that her prose was good enough to be published. The plot of the resulting work revolves around a chance encounter between two strangers – and the complex, unexpected ways in which their lives soon intertwine.
Mrs Youngson, who has one grandchild and two more on the way, hopes she can be an inspiration to others. She said: ‘I want other people to take up writing. And hopefully it can push more people towards publication.’
The 2018 Costa shortlists feature 20 authors and span five categories – novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children’s book.
Also nominated for their debut novels are Natalie Hart for Pieces Of Me, Elisa Lodato for An Unremarkable Body and Stuart Turton for The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle. The winners are announced in January.