Royal Ascot & Reader’s Choice Awards Results

Transcript of the
2018 Royal Ascot Competition Awards Ceremony

Welcome to the 2018 Royal Ascot Awards Ceremony.

This year, the number of entries in the Royal Ascot Competition increased by 36%, and again, I am happy to report that all but two entrants submitted their entry into the Royal Ascot Readers’ Choice Category Awards.

Across both contests, it was again very evident that we all have our own individual reaction to any given story.

What works for one reader, may well not work for others.

Reading is a very personal endeavour undertaken by gazillions of very individual persons every day. And their reaction or response to any given story will be as variable as the weather in Scotland.

If you were an entrant in this year’s contest, or you’re considering entering next year’s contest, remember that each and every judge who reads your entry will interpret and respond to it in a way that is unique to that individual.

Our first round judges’ comments, and the comments offered by the readers who judged your entry in the Readers’ Choice contest, not only provide unbiased, honest feedback, but serve as a litmus test for your story before it goes out to the big, bad, and sometimes harsher world of reader-land.

All those judges scores and comments, whether similar or very very different, are a preview of what you can expect to encounter in the marketplace, and for some, a gentle reminder of the importance of meeting readers’ expectations of our Regency sub-genre.

For all our entrants, though, their contest reports also demonstrate the reality of just how differently people can and will interpret the same story.

Remember this whenever someone gives you a poor review on Amazon, or a contest judge gives you a lower-than-anticipated score, or an agent or editor passes on your story. No one, be they a reviewer, a contest judge, or even an acquiring editor, is ever the sole authority on what is or is not a jolly good story.

We are writers, and as writers, we owe it to ourselves to write the stories we need to tell.
Those stories don’t have to be perfect – no story is ever perfect, and no story ever will be.
Just get your story out of your head on onto paper. Edit and polish and finesse it, then get it out into the world.

The only certainty after that is that your story will not appeal to everyone, but it will appeal to someone. Hopefully, lots of someones.

And now to the business of revealing the results for this year’s Royal Ascot Competition.

First, the results of the 2018 Royal Ascot Readers’ Choice Category Awards.

There were no entries in the Hot Regency Category this year, and the Wild Regency Category did not have the minimum three entries required to have a valid category.

In the Sweet & Mild Regency Category, with a score of 78.75 percent, the winner is THE MEMORY OF BLUE by Emily Blackwood.

In the Regency Historical Category, scoring 90.83 percent, we have a tie. This award is therefore shared by A HERO’S WELCOME by William Haggart and LORD DANVILLE’S DAMSELS by Lesli Lent.

Congratulations to Bill – I’m sure we all wish he were here. But Lesli is present, so please come up here, Lesli. Give her a big hand everyone!

[Lesli Lent receives her category winner’s sash and certificate]

It is worth mentioning that Lesli’s second entry, was the next highest scoring entry in this category with a score of 87.5 percent which leads me to suspect we might have an over-achiever in our midst!

Now to the main event, The 2018 Royal Ascot Contest.

The field in this year’s contest was bigger than last year, and highly
competitive.

Final round judges, on the other hand, were scarcer than hen’s teeth this year, which means I will be stalking editors and agents for next year’s contest while I’m here in Denver. If any of you see one, corral them please, and send a runner with all haste to find me!

But for this year’s contest, try as I might, I could not secure the services of the two additional judges required to make up my preferred panel of five.

I have consoled myself ever since with the artist’s magic ‘rule of three’, and have been very pleased indeed with my small, but elite panel.

The intrepid trio who accepted the task of judging this year’s contest were: Erin Molta of Entangled Publishing, Kevan Lyon of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency and Joanna McKenzie of the Nelson Literary Agency.

All reported that it was a fun experience judging the Royal Ascot this year; and Erin Molta has also expressed her interest in receiving full manuscripts from all four finalists.

Now, allow me to introduce this year’s finalists. In alphabetical order:
FINDING WYCHWOOD.

A STRIDENT FIRST ENCOUNTER BETWEEN ANDREW, A YOUNG CAPRICIOUS EARL, AND JUDITH, A NOBLEWOMAN HIDING FROM HER DANGEROUS FAMILY, GIVES WAY TO A TENDER, BURGEONING ROMANCE WHERE EACH STRIVES TO HEAL THE OTHERS’ WOUNDS WHILE VEILING THE PAINFUL TRUTHS OF THEIR MUTUAL PASTS.

Finding Wychwood was penned by our newest Beau Monde member, DAVID NIX, writing as Emily Blackwood.

Our next finalist is
LORD DANVILLE’S DAMSELS.

ON HIS WAY HOME FROM THE WAR, CAPTAIN LORD DANVILLE CAN’T RESIST RESCUING YET ANOTHER LADY IN NEED OF SAVING, BUT WITH SEVERAL RESCUED DAMSELS ALREADY AWAITING HIM AT HOME, IS SHE ONE TOO MANY? OR IS SHE THE ONE?

This entry is by Lesli Lent.

Our third finalist is
PRIDE OF HONOR,
a story in which

A HATPIN AND PARASOL ARMED POET WITH A MADDENING ROYAL NAVY OFFICER IN TOW, RACES AGAINST TIME TO SNAG THE PERFECT ‘GENTLEMAN OF THE TON’

written by Andrea Stein.

Our last finalist is
THE MEMORY OF BLUE.

WHEN BLIND LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER HANNAH COTTON PLUCKS A DYING ARTHUR FROM THE SEA, THE ACT PROPELS HER INTO THE LION’S DEN OF LONDON SOCIETY, PLACING HER HEART AT RISK WHILE OPENING A DOOR TO ROMANCE AND LOVE —A DOOR SHE’D BELIEVED FIRMLY SHUT

by DAVID NIX, writing as Emily Blackwood.

Please give all our finalists a resounding round of applause for making it into the finals!
Before I reveal which of these four have claimed thus year’s title, I must ask you to show your collegiate colors and your generous natures, and acknowledge the two entries which tied for fifth place, a mere HALF A POINT behind the finalists.

In light of this, I am awarding a Highly Commended Certificate to SIR LAURENCE SELECTS A WIFE by Allis Gordon, and BEST LAID PLANS by Patty Reagin.

[Patty Reagin receives her certificate]

Alright, ladies and gentlemen – I’m sure you can all remember your schooldays and drumming your hands on your desks, so let’s have a drum roll please…

Our 2018 Royal Ascot Grand Winner is Lord Danville’s Damsels by Lesli Lent.

4 thoughts on “Royal Ascot & Reader’s Choice Awards Results

  1. I was unable to hear the speaker clearly and the screen for the winners was very blurry. Is there going to be a transcript that we can read to discover the winners and what the speaker had to say along the way?

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