The Army of Wolves Shortlisted for the Kindle Storyteller Award 2019

by Claire Moore

I was so thrilled when The Army of Wolves was shortlisted to the final five – from a list of 6,000 – for the Kindle Storyteller Award. The award is the biggest in independent publishing with a £20,000 prize for the winner.

The award ceremony on the 14th October (the same night as some other writing award, what was the name of that one again?!) was brilliant fun – with a cocktail named after my book and the chance to chat to other writers, including the author of the brilliant Queenie, Candice Carty-Williams, as well as agents and experts in the self-publishing arena. Mariella Frostrup was one of the judges, which was amazing. She was also very helpful in advising me on how the heck to stand for publicity shots!

It was an absolute privilege to be representing young adult and fantasy at this award, as it’s often said that self-publishing is only for romance or crime writing.

Although I didn’t win the award, I was so proud to be there with my debut novel – all the other shortlisted writers were industry old-hands and had written 10+ books each!

How did I get there? Well, a few years ago, I attended a Cornerstones residential writing course with an overspill of creative ideas and no idea how to structure any of them. The tireless support and belief of the Cornerstones team – Helen, Kathryn, and their reader Becca Allen – gave me the confidence to keep going and to go it alone. 

If you have a brilliant book that isn’t being picked up by the traditional publishing route, I would highly recommend self-publishing. What’s the point in your amazing creation never leaving your computer when it can be out there bringing a shine to the world?