2020 unleashed a global pandemic, wildfires, hurricanes, and many bad DIY haircuts, but on Oct. 17, a nice thing happened. I won a gold award in the Florida Writers Association (FWA) Royal Palm Literary Awards competition -- in the mainstream or literary book-length fiction category -- for my debut novel, City in a Forest.
Thank you, thank you to all the incredibly hard-working FWA volunteers who made this year's remote writing conference a success. I was deeply honored to compete with such outstanding writers, and very grateful to the judges.
I attended my first FWA conference in person last year. Immediately, I was welcomed into the community. The warmth and inclusiveness of the FWA community blew me away. I take pride in my FWA membership. The organization supports young writers and uplifts diverse voices.
Thank you for saving 2020, FWA, and congratulations to everyone who participated in this year's Royal Palm Literary Awards contest. Whether you won an award or not this time, please keep writing. Keep creating art.