The Celebration of Literature: New Angle Prize Evening

On the 25th of September, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the New Angle Prize evening at Hintlesham Golf Club with some of the other members of the Suffolk Book League. I felt it was an important night to attend, presenting the opportunity to speak to published authors who were nominated for awards, as well as building connections in an industry in which I hope to flourish. 

So, after light mingling and a brief fight with the recalcitrant Suffolk Book League banner, the night began. It started with Dr Amanda Hodgkinson congratulating the Student New Angle Prize winners  for their success in the competition held by Suffolk University and Ipswich Institute. This set the mood that permeated the rest of the evening – the love and celebration of literature and storytelling.

From this, Lesley Dolphin awarded Erica James with the Creative Suffolk Author Award (sponsored by The University of Suffolk) for her book The Ideal Husband, a book about self-discovery and rebuilding identity after divorce. Erica James commented that, although she has lived in the Suffolk area for a decade, the award is the seal that she really does belong and belong here.

After this, out came the food and with this, conversations of the anticipated announcements were bubbling. Each table had a nominee on it, and our table had Hilary Taylor. It was nice speaking to her about her thoughts on the upcoming news. She even commented afterwards that she felt ‘privileged to sit with the Suffolk Book League’, and that she and her husband thoroughly enjoyed the conversations we had on the table. 

In between the dessert and the long-awaited announcements, I moved to sit next to Hilary, seizing a moment of overlapping conversations to ask about her writing journey. We spoke about procrastination, different crafty hobbies that we enjoy (her current – at time of writing – obsession is natural dyes). We also spoke of how she entered the publishing world in her sixties after many attempts beforehand, but succeeded after a fated meeting at a church. Speaking to her was such a lovely experience, as the shared love for writing was evident as well as providing words of encouragement to one another.

And then, it was time for Alison Wheeler to present the winner of the New Angle Prize, sponsored by the Ipswich Institute. Ian Collins won first place with Blythe Spirit, the story of the well-known Suffolk writer Ronald Blythe and his love of the Suffolk area. In his heartfelt acceptance speech, Ian thanked the community, his fellow short-listed authors, and of course his friend Ronald Blythe. He closed his speech with a touching reminder of the importance of public libraries, as Ronnie was a frequent borrower. 

Once the applause quietened, Alison announced the runner-up winner of the New Angle Prize was Hilary Taylor and Sue Blything-Smith, our Chair, awarded the prize we had sponsored. This was such a lovely moment as throughout the evening Hilary had mentioned that she did not believe she would win, but she did, and won the prize sponsored by the representatives of SBL who were seated at her table.

After further applause and as the night drew to a close, we cheered once again for the winners and the nominees. Also, we thanked the hosts and presenters, and the lovely hospitality of the Hintlesham Golf Club. 

It really was a memorable evening celebrating literature and the people who write and share it. 

Olivia Ackers