The winner of the 20th edition of the Wadadli Pen Competition, Linita Simon, said she was “surprised” and “really happy” when she heard that she was selected as the overall winner of the literary competition.
Wadadli Pen, founded by acclaimed writer Joanne C Hillhouse, was created to give literary aspirants from Antigua and Barbuda a chance to express and grow their creative skills with the pen.
“I was very surprised,” Simon expressed yesterday on Observer AM.
“When I opened the e-mail to check on the results, and to also read all the stories that were written, and I saw my picture, I dropped the phone … I was really happy that the judges liked the story.”
Previously long and short-listed in 2021 and 2023, respectively, Simon — a teacher at JT Ambrose Primary School, said that she was inspired by Hillhouse to continue writing her piece.
“I had contacted her about my story that I was writing, and she said it has really good potential and I should continue, and so when I entered the first time [in 2021] I was like, ‘okay, let me just try and see.
“It was a challenge because it was limited to 500 words, and I tend to be very verbose when I’m writing,” she said.
Her short story, The Walk, received accolades for its structural and atmospheric creativity.
Simon said that her inspiration for writing stems from her family, especially her mother, who was an avid reader of romance novels.
“I come from a long line of teachers; my grandfather was a teacher, two of my aunts are retired teachers, and I have cousins who are still teaching.
“I started writing when I was 12. My mom used to love reading Mills and Boon and Harlequin, and I would ask my mom, ‘Why can’t [my eldest twin] and I read this?’ And she was like ‘No, why don’t you go and write something that you can read’, and I actually started writing little stories,” Simon added.
Now, a mother of her own children, she has passed on the value of reading to them, as well as her students.
“We engage in journal writing in the afternoon, and I try to let them know that when you’re writing, you are writing not just for yourself, but for an audience, so you need to be clear in expressing exactly what you want them to see,” Simon said.
Moving on, Simon said that she is currently working on trying to self-publish her book.
“I have written two novellas [and] I’m just waiting on a little advice on how to self-publish. I reached out to two publishing houses a while back, and the feedback was not encouraging.
“I’m also working on a book of poetry and art with a local artist, and we’re hoping to get it completed this year,” she said.
