Devon writer shortlisted for Novella Award

Joma West, 30, has been shortlisted for the literary Novella Award run by Manchester Metropolitan University for her short novel Wild.

Launched in 2014, The Novella Award aims to find the best up-and-coming writer of a short novel. It is awarded to a previously unpublished work of fiction, between 20,000-40,000 words in length.

On being shortlisted, the University of Glasgow graduate said: “I felt amazed, thrilled, and just really proud that what I've written has been selected.

“I primarily write science fiction and I'm always interested in how writing about another world or another time can shine a light on how we live and interact with our world and other people right now. This story is a reflection of that. But, most simply, this story was inspired by a word – Wild.”

The winning novella will receive a £1,000 cash prize and publication by award-winning Scottish independent publisher Sandstone Press. The runner-up is awarded £500 and a reader’s report.

The venture is a partnership between Manchester Metropolitan University’s Department of Contemporary Arts, at the Cheshire campus of the University and the Screen School of Liverpool John Moores University. Sandstone Press, Time to Read, and NAWE are all partners of the award and work alongside it to encourage the publication of new writing.

On her plans for the future, the writer said: “I would love to be a full time writer and that's what I'm working towards. I'm trying to find an agent for a novel I've finished and I am currently working on another novel as well as a short story collection.”

Last year’s winner ‘The Harlequin’ by Nina Allan went on to receive national coverage and was longlisted for the Best Novella in the Saboteur Awards 2016.

The Novella Awards will be presented at the Manchester Metropolitan University’s Axis Arts Centre in Crewe on November 24.