I am excited. I am nervous. I'm still in a bit of denial. I still haven't given any thought to what I'm going to say onstage. So I can't promise what I say will be witty, coherent or in any way representative of actual human speech. I have some limited experience of speaking in front of crowds, but never to an audience so large. And never as a guest of honor. I may get to the front and hyperventilate myself into incoherence. I may say something so unforgivably stupid that I'm thrown out of the contest and stricken from the records. But if any of you would like to see me try not to embarrass myself too badly, you can watch the awards ceremony online, Sunday night at http://www.writersofthefuture.com/.
I really do recommend you tune in! I watched last year's ceremony and I really enjoyed many of the speakers. And if you happen to be entering the contest yourself, watching the ceremony is an excellent chance to dream big. Imagine yourself up on that stage! Write out your own acceptance speech. It's OK to admit that you've written at least one at some point in your life.
Or maybe that's just me. :)
