The
Act of Theft, my novella, was just named short-list
finalist for 2013 Faulkner-Wisdom. That’s
the third short-list finalist this year, after An Unexpected Gift for a Growling Fool for the novel and The Girl in the Bathtub,
for novel-in-progress.
Last year for the 2012 Faulkner-Wisdom, I
had two finalists: A
Perfect Day for an Expat Exit, novel, and The Girl in the Bathtub, novel-in-progress, plus The Resurrection of Jonathan Brady was a
short-list finalist novel (also 2011).
So over the last two years, five of my books—four
novels and one novella—have been named a finalist or a short list finalist for
Faulkner-Wisdom.
Back in 2007, “Malaysian Games”, was even
named runner-up in the Faulkner-Wisdom for short story; therefore, my fiction have
been named short-list finalists or better in four of their categories.
Isn’t it about time that I finally won the
Faulkner-Wisdom?
I did win the
Popular-Star Reader’s Choice Award for my collection of short stories Lovers and Strangers Revisited back in 2009
(and translated into French in 2011). And "Home for Hari Raya" from Lovers and Strangers Revisited was filmed in Malaysia by Ohio University in 2013.
Odd years have been good for me. Of course, I’d rather have an agent and a two-book
publishing deal in the US or the UK (and a film optioned, if that's not too much to ask).
There is still plenty of time for 2013...
—Borneo Expat Writer
Update: The Act of Theft was named a finalist for 2014 Faulkner-Wisdom Novella.
Here are links to some
of my author-to-author interviews of first novelists:
Golda
Mowe author of Iban Dream and Iban Journey.
Preeta
Samarasan author of Evening is the Whole Day.
Chuah
Guat Eng, author of Echoes of Silence and Days
of Change.
Plus:
Five part Maugham
and Me series
Beheaded on
Road to Nationhood: Sarawak Reclaimed—Part
I
9 comments:
Being a Finalist in the Faulkner is very significant. You must be a great writer.
Tao Lin,
Thanks. Far from great but I'm on the right track. It's been a long haul but I'm still hanging in there, still writing, still revising, so I can only get better.
Cool!
When Tao told me, I had to check it out, I can't believe you're not published yet.
Megan,
Hi, thanks. I'm getting some agent interest, 13 (5 fulls) in the last two years, including a partial and a full request last week. Being based in Borneo probably doesn't help.
Even now, after a recent pass from an agent, I'm considering rewriting An Unexpected Gift from a Growling Fool, changing it from present tense to past tense.
You have an interesting blog on writing. That you read your novel aloud is a good idea. I think if you read your novel aloud to yourself six times instead of three times your novel would be twice as good. I will try reading my next novel aloud in a room many times.
Tao Lin, thanks. I'm going through one of my novels again, after some agent interest. Rereading it out loud and looking for ways to improve the writing, ways to make each sentence, each paragraph more effective and less wordy. Good luck!
Glad to stumble on your blog. Looking forward to reading your novels and novella. Are they all available in MPH Kuching?
Angelina, thanks, not yet. Most are set in the US.
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