Awards

Good writers have long lists of awards. Right?

I don’t think I’ve ever met a writer who isn’t “award winning” in one way or another, no matter how weird and obscure the award. Good for them, I say. Let them be proud.

As for me, yes, I’ve won a few awards – some weird and obscure, some not. But I don’t believe these should be taken as a measure of me. Or any writer. We tend to forget there’s an editor behind every great story, and that he or she has intervened to varying degrees, unknown to readers and competition judges.

I don’t mean to suggest that a winning writer isn’t deserving – writing a great story and working through it with an editor is a big job. But I do mean to suggest that almost every story we read is the result of collaboration. Even – and sometimes especially – the very best ones.

So, please forgive me for not listing my small collection of awards; they don’t mention editors as they should have. Even if those editors didn’t do a great deal with the copy in the end (sometimes yes, sometimes no), they trusted me with the story, worked out the idea and any kinks with me, and ultimately put it in their publications.

I owe them all more than I’ve previously acknowledged.