Novel Competition Long List Finalists 2008
Listed below are the finalists for the 2008 Novel Competition. The novel extracts were selected by our story readers as work that displayed a high level of highly structured writing that amply demonstrates an understanding of the writing craft, producing clear, descriptive narrative set in an interesting tale.
It was a tough decision and those manuscripts that were not included in the long list may have only missed out because the standard was indeed so high.
We have added a few comments given by the readers to highlight what made the extracts memorable and gave them their strength.
Please note that the long list is not listed in any particular order.
| Novel Title
|
Description
|
|---|---|
| The Crow Painter's Wife
|
Gripping, engaging and moves at a cracking pace
|
| The Chapel of Her Dreams
|
Tense, atmospheric writing
|
| A Dubious Alliance
|
Indulgent, enjoyable and well written
|
| Rock Street
|
Emotive, descriptive and insightful
|
| Viper's Blood
|
Dramatic, powerful writing
|
| Finding Faith
|
Interesting and appealing
|
| Colonial Bride
|
Beautifully descriptive
|
| Truly Blue
|
Good, engaging tale with a gentle streak of humour
|
| Devil's Chimney
|
Effective detail, good dialogue, snappy plotline
|
| Pointing Starwards
|
A bloody good read
|
| Putting the Pig Away
|
Nicely told, narrative authentic and engaging, flows easily
|
| Haggard Gentle
|
Confident, bold writing, intense, extremely well written
|
| Remembering the Dead
|
Great opening chapter, strongly atmospheric
|
| Pablo's Egg
|
Powerful, painful, a voice that deserves to be heard
|
| Blessed Are the Meek
|
Great opening, dramatic, handled with aplomb
|
| Fezes of Fantasy
|
Very well written, strong opening chapter
|
| In The Beginning
|
Gripping, intriguing
|
| The Adventures of Comet Sweat
|
Distinctive voices, enjoyable, vivid
|
| The King's Storyteller
|
Excellent story, expertly written, well rounded
|
| Saving Grace
|
Good story, flows nicely, intriguing, fresh, breathtaking
|
| Sunday's Child
|
Warm, readable, engaging tale
|
| Broken For You
|
Detailed descriptions, confident, crafted writing
|
| Fiercer Than Any Flame
|
Complex tale handled with confidence and aplomb
|
| Godfather Death
|
An interesting tale, well written, strong prose
|
| The Keeper and The Monkey
|
Brilliantly articulated, strong writing style
|
| Small Acts of Love
|
Superb, the writing is stupendous, as is the sheer quality
|
| Entropy | Slow moving but effective
|
| The Greatest Reason
|
Likeable characters, a good read
|
| Spoiling for Trouble
|
Reads well, lightness of writing
|
| The Resurrection of Danny MacNamara
|
Interesting plot, portrayed effectively
|
The next Novel Competition has the deadline set at midnight on Wednesday 29 February 2012. The new rules and entry details will appear on the website along with submissions which will be accepted from Saturday 1st January 2011.
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