Candace Cox, who lives in Sarasota, US with her retired husband, was announced as the Writing Mentorship Award winner in the Page Turner Awards online ceremony, where Paul Michael Glaser from Starsky and Hutch fame was a special guest to announce the winners.
The Page Turner Awards, sponsored by ProWritingAid and Campfire, offers authors, writers, and screenwriters the chance to enter the first 10 pages of their writing project, where a judging panel of literary experts and film producers will read the work.
Cox’s debut novel, The Todd Family, is based on a true story. David Todd, a successful fabric manufacturer in Glasgow must raise his family alone when his wife dies in 1804. He raises eleven children, ranging in age from two to twenty, while managing a sprawling business empire and some far-flung investments.
An early chapter of The Todd Family is cantered in Ryegate, Vermont. The story is based on an actual family making its way in the early nineteenth century. One branch of the family continues to live and work on the family farm, now over 200 years later.
Scots settled in several parts of America including Sarasota, Florida, North Carolina (detailed in the television series Outlander) and Ryegate, Vermont.
Author G.B. Somers revisits the story of one such settler, young Elizabeth Todd, who ventured to Vermont in 1805. An earlier recounting of her life, published in the 1930s, contained many discrepancies with other accounts, including family records and published history.
The Todd Family by Candace Cox is an attempt to recast Elizabeth's life. Additionally, Elizabeth came from a large, prominent family in Glasgow, and the lives of her siblings were equally significant in opening a window onto the lives of privilege in that era.
Wealth, bravery, scandal, and commerce combine to paint a far different portrait of this family than the earlier book envisions. See more about Cox and her submission: https://pageturnerawards.com/2021-writing-mentorship-award-winners
Cox said: “I’m excited and delighted to have won this Writing Mentorship from Ann Brady in the Page Turner Awards. A writing mentorship is a valuable opportunity to venture into writing historical fiction under the tutelage of an experienced author who is expert in the society of Great Britain of the nineteenth century.”
This year aspiring writers walked off the red carpet with life-changing prizes.
One new unpublished writer won literary agency representation, while a screenwriter won literary management. Another new writer won a publishing deal, seven independent authors won an audiobook production, plus one other won a publishing package (including an edit, book cover and book trailer), and another author won a book adaptation.
The Page Turner Awards winners can be found here: https://pageturnerawards.com/2021-winners
Submissions for the 2022 Awards will open in January 2022. Find out how you too can enter your writing into The Page Turner Awards international writing contest: https://pageturnerawards.com
