Local dad, Robert Webber, of Kettering, who is a university lecturer, has written true life stories from a forgotten time in Finland and is hoping his novel will win an award through Page Turner Awards.
Winston's Spy is about the son of a Russian nobleman is recruited into the British Secret Service who goes undercover in Finland to support the country’s struggle against Soviet subjugation in the Winter War. Complicated by love and intrigue, the assignment could fail – and that would upset Winston Churchill himself!
Robert has entered Winston's Spy into the Page Turner Awards, where writers and authors of published and unpublished fiction and non-fiction from all genres can enter their writing to get discovered by high-profile judges from the literary world and film industry.
The story is set as tensions in Europe are becoming taut and all the world knows of how the Nazi's are storming through Europe, but the author focuses on another war that is about to start, a truly modern-day David and Goliath story, as plucky Finland (a country with fewer than 5 million citizens) takes on the might of the Soviet Union and for 105 days, holds the Bolshevik onslaught at bay. When the author lived in Finland, he met several people who had lived through the Winter War and he was impressed by their pride, but also humility that their country had fought so bravely against overwhelming odds. It was from talking to these people that the author truly understood the meaning of the Finnish word "sisu" - there is no comparative word in English, but the word defines Finland... stoic, hardy determination... true grit.
Robert said, “The Winter War in Finland is the forgotten war of the twentieth century, but it is a war that shaped a country. This is the story of some wonderful people who I met in Finland who lived through that time and were moulded by the events of 1939-40. This is their story, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for sharing it with me.”
The Page Turner Awards, sponsored by ProWritingAid and Campfire, offers writers the chance to enter the first 10 pages of a completed, unpublished fiction or non-fiction manuscript, where a group of literary agents will read the work. And for screenwriters to enter their screenplay to be judged by film producers who are looking for scripts to produce.
Last year three writers won a literary agent, five writers won a publishing deal, and thirteen independent authors won an audiobook production.
This year, Page Turner Awards has five award categories namely, a Writing Award for unpublished, completed manuscripts, a Young Writer Award, for writers aged between 18 and 25, a Writing Mentorship Award, for uncompleted manuscripts, a Screenplay Award for scriptwriters with a completed screenplay and a Book Award, for authors with a published book, mainstream or independently published.
Robert is asking people from Kettering and surrounding areas to please give feedback on his entry here: https://pageturnerawards.com/book-award-2021/winstons-spy-carlton-chronicles-1
Find out how you too can enter your writing into The Page Turner Awards: https://pageturnerawards.com. Submissions are open until 31 May 2021.
