Danielle Cahill wins £1.5k Caledonia Novel Award for Trad Wives

Danielle Cahill has won the Caledonia Novel Award for unpublished and self-published novelists. She has been awarded £1,500 and an artwork by Edinburgh artist Lucy Roscoe for her book Trad Wives. 

Cahill also wins a free place on a writing course at the Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre.

The novelist has now signed with competition judge Ariella Feiner at United Agents, who commented: “From the moment we see a young mother and baby arrive at a cottage in the heart of the picturesque Cotswolds, and realise that all is not quite as it seems, I was utterly hooked by this story.

"Trad Wives is a brilliantly told, modern-day ’Stepford Wives’ tale of murder and mayhem, concealed behind exquisite interiors, beautiful clothes and the social media trend of perfectly turned-out Trad Wives... I am absolutely thrilled that she has accepted my offer of representation and I am so excited to share this novel with editors.”

Jane Mackelworth has been highly commended for her novel To Let You Go, winning £500.

Now in its 10th year, this was the most successful year to date for the Edinburgh-based award, attracting more than 550 entries from 33 countries.