Sui Annukka: 'Writing takes time and developing a voice takes even longer'
BY Sui Annukka
29th Jun 2023
Sui Annukka won the Discoveries Prize in 2022 with her novel-in-progress Thursday. This past year has been monumental for Sui – after winning the prize she was signed by Jess Molloy (Curtis Brown literary agent), she made lifelong friends with her fellow Discoveries longlisted writers – and most recently she has been celebrating her first publication! Her novella The Mother Sun is out now exclusively with Audible. Sui spoke about her whirlwind year in a moving speech at this year’s Women’s Prize summer party – here is what she said …
I work as a Teaching Assistant, in the Inclusion Department, of a high school. A few weeks ago, we had our Year 11 leavers’ day. It’s big celebration for students, parents, and staff — before the students go off on their study leave. The mum of one of the girls we work with gave our team a beautiful card. The message inside it said: Thank you for the being the village that helped raise my daughter.
I’ve come to think of the Discoveries Prize in similar terms — a community that’s coming together to nurture emerging writers and to help bring new voices into the world. I’ve been invited here today to speak to you as the winner of last year’s Discoveries Prize, but I’m also here as part of the village. Part of the cohort of 16 writers who were longlisted last year: all brilliant, talented and wonderful women. We are of different ages, cultures, interests, and personal circumstances. We live in different parts of the country and, crucially, we are at very different stages in our writing careers.
What has happened for me personally because of winning the prize has, undoubtedly, been life changing. I have an agent now. Jess Molloy at Curtis Brown. The prize money, of £5,000, has meant that, this year, I have been able to go down to four days a week at school, which has given me more time to write. Also, as part of the prize, I was commissioned to write a piece for Audible. I wrote a novella. It’s called The Mother Sun. It was launched on Audible last month (and has had some great reviews, for which I am very grateful) This is the stuff of dreams! And it’s been SO joyful. I’m not going to lie, some of it has been scary too — in the best possible way. I have learnt so much this year.
But, without doubt, the most important part of this experience is the community that we are building with the support and encouragement of the Women’s Prize. Our cohort have been meeting on Zoom each month to discuss our writing, to learn from each other’s experiences and, most importantly, to cheer each other on. We have a very active (and sometimes hilarious) WhatsApp group. We’ve been talking to the Discoveries team about future workshops and training; and also, about ways in which our experience can benefit this year’s cohort.
This is so exciting because what is emerging is far more empowering, and important, that an individual success story: it is the potential to sustain a multiplicity of voices in the long term. Because, as you all know, writing takes time; and developing a voice takes ever longer. And what I know from my experience of working in an Inclusion Department at a school is that everyone’s path to success looks very different, but each person deserves the encouragement, the nurture, and the witnessing they need, for however long they need it. This may feel like a big ask of a literary prize, but I think it is necessary — if we want well-told stories that speak to the complexity and richness of the world we live in.
And I believe this is what we are doing here.
I am so proud to be part of Discoveries. And I thank you, from my heart, for this privilege.
Download Sui Annukka’s Audible original The Mother Sun here.
Watch this space Discoveries 2024 will open for applications in September 2023.