A Northumberland author has won a cash prize of £2,500 for her crime novel in a literary competition which celebrates the North East.
The 2022 Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction, which celebrates the work of crime and thriller writers who are from the North East, or whose work celebrates the region, has been won by Bedlington writer Jacqueline Auld. Her submission, The Children of Gaia, was selected by the prize's judging panel, which included crime writer Nicky Black, last year's prizewinner Robert Scragg, and author and founder of the prize LJ Ross.
Jacqueline's submission The Children of Gaia is about a dysfunctional group of adult survivors of childhood abuse. They want to 'out' their abusers on social media and save a young child in the process, without involving the police.
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The novel was praised by the judging panel for its "claustrophobic and atmospheric" nature, while also highlighting the story's strong concept and page-turner potential.
Gateshead-born Jacqueline, who now lives in Bedlington, is a keen fan of crime fiction and started writing ten years ago after graduating from the Open University. She also worked for three decades working in the pub trade and two more in the charity sector, drawing her inspiration from providing advice to people in debt, helping the unemployed to find jobs and working with offenders.
Despite winning the prize, Jacqueline almost didn't apply as she only heard of the competition when she rescued an unread e-bulletin from her deleted emails and thought it was too late to apply. However, she had a last minute change of heart and ahead of being shortlisted, had spoken of being given a much-needed dose of confidence in her writing ability - which winning the prize will have boosted further.
On winning the prize, Jacqueline said: "I am so excited to have won this award. It has given me such a boost to know that the judges thought my work worthy of being this year’s winner.
"When I read about all the other shortlisted authors and their submissions I was so impressed I honestly didn’t think I stood a chance – I’ll definitely be reading their work when it’s published. I intend to make the most of this wonderful opportunity by sitting myself down and writing, every day, no excuses, because I know now I can actually do this."
Now in its fourth year, the Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction was founded by author LJ Ross and is sponsored by her publishing imprint Dark Skies Publishing, in association with the Newcastle Noir Crime Writing Festival and Newcastle Libraries. The aim of the prize is not only to provide financial support, but to help build and maintain creative confidence for new, emerging and established writers in the crime and thriller genre.
Author LJ Ross said: "Every year I’m astonished by the quality of the submissions we receive for the Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction, and this year certainly didn’t disappoint. It is encouraging to see so many talented writers emerging in the North East and such fantastic work drawing inspiration from our special part of the world.
"I’d like to congratulate Jacqueline on her well-deserved success. We all look forward to reading more of her work."
What is your favourite novel set in the North East? Let us know!
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