A local author, lecturer and band member has sealed a publishing contract after coming out on top in a national short story competition.
Helen Lynch, an English lecturer from the University of Aberdeen and tin-whistle player in North-east ceilidh outfit Danse McCabre, has been announced as The Bluechrome Short Story Award winner for 2008.
Bluechrome is an independent publisher based in London and Bristol specialising in poetry, novels and short fiction. By taking first place in its UK-wide competition, Helen won £250 and a contract for a collection of her short stories to be published in 2009.
Her two winning tales were called 'New Era, New Perspective', which is set in a Polish supermarket queue during the last days of communism, and 'Spalsh!' which is about an unnerving encounter on a transatlantic liner in 1946.
"I have published individual stories in anthologies and magazines before, but this will be my first collection," said Helen, who has also written translations and adaptations of Beowulf and French Medieval romances for children.
She added: "It's just fabulous to see such support for the short story from a publisher as the usual attitude is that single author collections simply aren't economic unless the author is already well known. I'm really excited about doing this. Short stories are usually marketed by author or in anthologies, so the Bluechrome deal is an amazing opportunity."
A Bluechrome spokesperson said: "It was a truly tough choice, but Helen's stories just had that certain 'something' that in the end made sure that they stayed with us. We're really pleased to have another excellent story writer joining our little community, and are very much looking forward to working with Helen."
Helen has been teaching part-time in Aberdeen's English Department since 1996, and currently teaches the Chaucer and his Contemporaries course to third years. She took up the tin whistle some years ago to entertain her baby daughter and now plays regularly with Danse McCabre all across Scotland.
See Helen's translations of Beowulf here www.abdn.ac.uk/english/beowulf/ and French Medieval Romances here: www.abdn.ac.uk/english/lion/
Or to find out more about Helen's tin-whistle duties with Danse McCabre visit: www.danse-mccabre.co.uk