Had a lovely time in Berwick this weekend with my new band, singing the new songs and enjoying the rich hospitality of the Kazmiranda cafe. Thanks to all who supported us and bought albums and of course for seeming to enjoy the new stuff. If you want to know more then go to   https://www.facebook.com/theceliabband  and see what else we're up to.

It's almost the end of January and I'm fizzing with long lists and short lists and everything in between. Anthem for Jackson Dawes has trotted off on its own and is featuring on lists for the North Lanarkshire Catalyst Award; Coventry Inspiration Award; Brandford Boase Award; Carnegie Medal; UKLA Award; Leeds Book Awards.It's ab fab to get as far as those lists, and though there's a long, long road ahead, which can terminate at any point, who knows where, I have to thank the editor of the book, Emma Matthewson, my agent James Catchpole and of course Cornerstones for all their faith, all their hard work and pushing me into this frantic world of writing. I feel privileged to have worked with them all. Yes, I wrote the book, but without these good people it would still be just a pile of paper with words on it. As for awards, well, I'd like to shuffle along from the nominations to the long lists, from the long lists to the short lists, and hey, if anything better happens after that, fab. But it's fab anyway. The process of it all means that someone, somewhere has not slushed my book but is reading it and discussing it.  And there are lots of someones. And they matter more than anything. Thank you for your time.