Litopia’s very own Scribbling Sea Serpent, already making waves in the short story market, has made a bit of a splash with her unpublished novel.

Kate Kelly was shortlisted in both categories of this year’s Yeovil Prize, with a highly commended for her novel, Myth Making, and a commended for her short story, Remember Normandy, a double whammy that landed her the Western Gazette Literary Award for a writer living in Somerset or Dorset.

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Kate received her trophy at the annual Booker Debate, where she met up with some fellow Litopians. The novel category drew 153 entries, with writers submitting the synopsis and opening chapters - up to 15,000 words – which were judged by novelist Margaret Graham. The short story category was even more competitive, with 303 entries in the mix.

“It’s our local prize, so I’ve always tried to support it,” Kate explained. “I’ve been longlisted and commended before, but this is my biggest success yet.”

Kate, a marine scientist by day, has enjoyed solid success with her short fiction over the last couple of years. “I\'ve always written,” she said. “I banged out my first book on my Dad\'s old typewriter when I was five, but I only started taking it more seriously four years ago when I joined the Yeovil Writers Group and started subjecting my work to critique.”

It\'s a year since Kate started trying to sell her stories and she’s had five published so far, the most recent in the Ruins Metropolis anthology from Hadley Rille Books in July, with another three in the pipeline, with Arkham Tales, Escape Velocity magazine and Pseudopod.

“I’m very excited and encouraged by this year’s Yeovil Prize,” said Kate, who joined Litopia in September 2007. “I hope it will give me the boost I need to get past the slushpile. In that respect, Litopia has been fantastic, too. It’s not just the superb feedback I\'ve had on my work, but the other writers – not just published, but highly successful published writers, who are willing to share their experience and advice with people in the forums. And seeing the success enjoyed by others makes me all the more determined myself.”

You can follow Kate’s exploits at http://scribblingseaserpent.blogspot.com/