Last Friday we all had a fun evening at Browns saying goodbye to Jen, who, as she herself mentioned recently, is leaving us for marginally warmer climes (as well as the city of my favourite bakery, but that’s a whole other entry). About halfway through the meal she got a very exciting voicemail saying that she had won (won!) the Orange Readers’ Group Prize! I think our reaction can be distilled into one non-word: “Eeeeeeeeeeeee!” Champagne was ordered; champagne was drunk with alacrity.

Jen won her prize for founding and maintaining an incredibly successful online group, which has thousands of members all across the world. It goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway!) that we are so happy and excited for her: Jen’s love of books and reading shines through almost as soon as you meet her, so it’s lovely that the panel recognised that. We were thrilled all over again when we saw an article about her in The Bookseller. She’s going to the Orange Book Awards in what I’m reliably informed is a very pretty dress, and we’re hoping to get some book trade gossip afterwards.

She mentioned on Friday that she was feeling a wee bit nervous about spending her life writing for a while, but we at Fidra have enormous confidence in her – and urge one of you out there to employ her! Jen’s a poet, so I hope she’ll forgive me for butchering another poet’s words when I say that her decision isn’t madness but divinest sense. Good luck Jen, although we don’t think you’ll need it.

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