Hannah Hutchins

Hurrah, good news, The Forest has been shortlisted for the Fish short story prize.  It’s not on this website yet, but once the final results of the competition are announced (17th March) I’ll put it up.  To give you a hint, it includes both The Meddler and Little Red Shoes, plus some other wierd wonders living in the forest…

Fingers crossed!

Hello ladies of Calne book club! 

I am very excited about having my work read by you – not to mention a little nervous at getting ‘live feedback’!  But I’d like to thank you in advance for giving up your valuable reading time, and I hope you find something you enjoy!

See you in January…

HH x

Way back in April I mentioned a longer version of The Meddler and his creepy old forest… well it has been written, but I’ve just submitted it to a competition, so I won’t be putting up here until the results are out (March 2010!  Oh the agony of waiting!)

Just so you know I have been writing something…

HH xx

I know, I know, I’ve been silent and moody lately, not writing, not letting you know what’s going on…because there really isn’t much happening right now.  I’ve been continuing to develop my love/hate (40/60, I’d say) relationship with Authonomy, and that’s about it.  Haven’t written anything new for a while, feeling a bit disheartened with it all – it’s a bit tricky staying positive when you’re told by those in the know that although your writing is very good, it’s not going to get published because you’re a new name, and not a celebrity. 

Take a risk.

Go on, someone, stick your neck out.

And in the meantime, all the Hutchins’ spare pennies are going in the self-publishing pot.

Razzers to the lot of  ‘em.

Ok, so perhaps it’s not quite as shiny and sparkly as I first thought – there are a lot of writers on there desperate to get to the top at any cost, lots of back patting regardless of the quality of the work, lots of read swaps going on which, to my mind, kind of makes having a pitch a bit pointless…

But, having said all that, it’s also a good way of getting feedback on work that otherwise might only have a readership of a few friends and family.  I don’t think I’ll make it to the top of the charts, I just haven’t the time to read all the swaps I would need to do to get ’shelved’ by enough people (sounds unpleasant, doesn’t it?  Like getting dumped…) but I hope I’ll be able to use the constructive criticism to polish my work.  And you never know, someone somewhere with the right contacts might just take a look at my writing…

Hello all,

I’ve just discovered a brilliant website by HarperCollins – www.authonomy.com  – crammed full of new writing, everyone giving feedback and helpful comments to each other, and the chance to get looked at by a top publisher.  Needless to say I’ve registered and Human Geography is now up there for perusal – I know you can read it here too but pop along to Authonomy and have a little look, leave a little comment, and help me move up the rankings…

However, they only take work over ten thousand words, so all my short stuff will still be here for you to read and enjoy.

HH xxx

On sat 11th July I will be running/jogging/walking/crawling 5k around Lydiard Park in Swindon attempting to raise some money (and generally be a bit fitter) for Cancer Research.  I’m very proud to say that there are a number of survivors in my family and I’d like to do my bit for them.

So I need sponsorship!  It’s dead easy, you can do it online at http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/hannahhutchins

Thank you in advance,

HH x

Ok, since I last posted I’ve read Scarlett Thomas’s The End of Mr Y, which I found interesting and frustrating in almost equal measure, and now I’m rereading Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha.  I love going back to old books, things I’ve read before.  It’s comfort reading, revisiting familiar territory.   Tea and cakes all round.

Well, terribly sorry for the prolonged lack of blogging – real life got in the way there for a little while.  Have to admit it was rather fun real life – the first family camping trip, Hutchins Jnr’s first trip to the beach – but that’s no excuse for neglecting you, and my new stories too.  So now I’m back (from outer space) and ready to get on with some writing.  Tally ho, pip pip and hoorah!

HH xx

Hello!  Just to make sure you can all get to the stories, all you need to do is right click on ‘download’ next to the play/pause buttons, then ’save’ to wherever you want it…how you get it on to your mp3 player from there depends on what machine you’ve got!  Enjoy the stories, just got one more to record, then you can download them all and try to guess which voice is mine!

HH xx