Christie Watson, a nurse who turned to writing in her spare time, has won a Costa Book Award with her debut novel.
Christie Watson trained at Great Ormond Street and now works at a London teaching hospital
The Telegraph - 03 Jan 2012
Christie Watson, 35, took home the Costa First Novel Award for Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, which follows the travails of a family growing up in Nigeria.
She began writing while on maternity leave several years ago and won a place on a creative writing MA course at the University of East Anglia despite leaving school at 16 with no A-levels.
The judges described her book as a “vibrant gem of a novel”. Watson received a cheque for £5,000 and her book becomes one of five contenders for the £30,000 overall Costa Book of the Year, which is announced later this month.
However, Watson has no plans to give up her job at a London teaching hospital, even though she is hard at work on her follow-up novel.
“All I can say is I really have two jobs at the moment - nursing and writing. I can’t imagine separating myself from being a nurse, it’s all I’ve done since I was 17 years old,” she said.
Full piece at The Telegraph.
Full piece at The Telegraph.