Winning The Agatha Award by Jacqueline Winspear in Web Mystery Magazine, Summer 2005

Winning The Agatha Award at Malice Domestic came as a complete shock to me.

In fact, because I had won “Best First” last year for Maisie Dobbs, I was very surprised when I received news that Birds of a Feather had even been nominated. The line-up was very strong indeed and, to tell you the truth, just being nominated alongside Margaret Maron, Laura Lippman, Donna Andrews, and Sudjata Massey filled me with awe. For the awards banquet, I was sitting next to Gillian Roberts, who asked me if I was nervous.

“Oh, no,” I replied breezily, “I don’t stand a chance of winning, so there’s no need for nerves."

After I had presented the award for Best First Novel to Harley Jane Kozak, I crept back to my seat with my head down so that I didn’t get in the way of the next winner announced. Well, I had just leaned forward to tuck into my dessert, when I heard my name, only it sounded very muffled in my brain and took about twenty seconds to sink in.

I didn’t even have a “just in case” speech lined up! Everyone was just so gracious and, I think, most understanding of my tongue-tied self.

I truly meant everything I said or tried to say, that the award means so much to me because it represents the readers, the people who are interested, curious and committed enough to spend time and money on reading – and there’s plenty of choice for them out there. We authors write away in solitude and we hope that readers will find our work and care about it as we care. To receive validation in the form of an award voted for by readers is extremely heartwarming.

Sincere thanks went to the community of mystery writers who have been so welcoming, so supportive since I was first published. I still feel like such a rookie, but I hope I can be as helpful and encouraging to new writers in the future. I also thanked the mystery booksellers, who have really been behind the “Maisie Dobbs” books from the beginning. Bookselling gets harder all the time, not only from within the industry, but from the many retail choices people have today – and let’s face it, there’s only a very small percentage of people who have unlimited discretionary income. The booksellers do an amazing job, are always welcoming to authors and are always vigilant for opportunities to bring something important to the attention of their customers.

There were two “thank yous” that didn’t make it into my very stuttered acceptance speech: To Laura Hruska, my editor at Soho Press, who worked with me on Maisie Dobbs and Birds of a Feather , and who guided me in becoming a professional author, as opposed to “frantic writer with a dream, trying to balance day job as well.” To Amy Rennert, my amazing agent, mentor and friend. Maisie Dobbs was an unsolicited manuscript sent initially to ten agents, including Amy. I was ready with another ten names to send out more manuscripts, expecting the initial inquiries to be returned with refusal letters. My manuscript was one of hundreds Amy receives each month – I feel so blessed that she picked it up, read it, and believed in it. I never did have to send out the second round of inquiries.

The paperback edition of Birds of a Feather will be published in August by Penguin, to coincide with publication of Pardonable Lies, the third book in the Maisie Dobbs series, from Henry Holt Publishers.