Every year, I set the goal of getting 100 rejections. The idea is to push myself by sending my work out there without burdening myself with the expectation that I’m going to get much published. I never get anywhere near 100 rejections, but boy 2021 has been a “special” year. For me, it’s been the year of waiting (mostly due to the tribulations of being out on submission for my debut novel during the time of COVID -- but that’s another story), and I’ve just barely made a 20% acceptance rate.
That’s why these successes feel particularly sweet though -- you need those rejections to make the acceptances feel so good!
My debut novel The Grief Nurse was shortlisted for two awards: The Bridge Awards Emerging Writer Award (which includes a week-long retreat in the beautiful Moniak Mohr in the Scottish Highlands that I’m looking forward to next year) and the First Novel Prize 2021.
A collection of my short stories “Red Milk & Other Stories” will be published as part of Hickathrift Press’ pamphlet series. You can pre-order a copy, which will be available in March 2022.
You can find my poetry in Clout Zine and lyric essay ‘Manifold' in issue #1 of Epoch Press’ literary anthology.
Thanks for reading!
Angie Spoto is an American fiction writer and poet living in Edinburgh. In 2020, she completed a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. Her doctoral thesis was a fantasy novel, called The Grief Nurse, and a collection of essays on grief, madness and language. The Grief Nurse has been shortlisted for the First Novel Prize 2021 and The Bridge Awards Emerging Writer Award in 2020. Angie is represented by Robbie Guillory from Kate Nash Literary Agency.