Elizabeth Goodhue, from Peterborough, in the United States has been announced as the winner of the Page Turner Awards Non-Fiction Writing Award for her manuscript The Truth About Down Syndrome: Lessons Learned from Raising a Son with Trisomy-21.
Elizabeth entered the Page Turner Awards, where published and unpublished fiction and non-fiction writers of all genres can enter their writing to get discovered by high-profile judges from the literary world.
Elizabeth wrote The Truth About Down Syndrome: Lessons Learned from Raising a Son with Trisomy-21 to bust that myth. She wrote this book to show people that the life of a person with Down syndrome has, despite its challenges, is as rich and rewarding as any other life.
Elizabeth did not find out that her son William had Down syndrome until he was born. Through a series of vignettes, she traces the challenges she faced while advocating for him medically, educationally, and socially. She weaves their story to show that she, like any other mother loves her son as much as any other mother would.
When Elizabeth found out that her son had Down syndrome, she was so overwhelmed and upset that she couldn't celebrate his birth.
If she had known what she knows now, this would not have happened. Most people think that having a baby with special needs would be the worst thing that could happen to anyone.
Elizabeth said, “I submitted part of my memoir never expecting to win something. When I heard that I was a finalist and that an agent was interested in my book, I couldn't believe it. Submitting is a simple process, and I am glad that I did it. Now, having been announced as the winner…I can’t believe it! It just to show that anyone with a true-life story told well can be a writer and even go on to win a writing award.’
The Page Turner Awards, sponsored by ProWritingAid, gives writers and authors the chance to enter unpublished or published fiction and non-fiction books, where a group of literary agents and publishers will read the work.
Judges are carefully selected literary agents and publishers who are looking for writers to represent and publish, plus influencers in the publishing industry.
Founder of Page Turner Awards and award-winning novelist, Paula Wynne said: “There are writers from all walks of life, from manual labourers to academics. All with stories to tell, most of them heart-warming and moving. We’re proud that our Awards celebrates excellent writing and helps writers and authors to get their stories discovered.”
Success stories from this year’s awards include three writers winning literary representation, six writers winning a writing mentorship, five writers winning a publishing contract and thirteen independent authors winning an audiobook production.
Find out more about The Page Turner Awards: https://pageturnerawards.com. Submissions for 2021 will open on the 1st of January 2021.
