#324 Sail Away with Lisa Edwards

This week, we're running a takeover in collaboration with Reedsy freelancer Lisa Edwards! The winner of this contest will not only be awarded $250 — they’ll also receive a special bonus prize: personal feedback from Lisa herself. For your chance to get insight from one of Reedsy’s very own professionals, read on!

Hello, I’m Lisa Edwards – Reedsy editor and former publishing director at Scholastic UK. I’ve been in the children’s and YA publishing industry for almost three decades now, with a brief stint in adult non-fiction and literary agenting. Some of the series’ I’ve previously published include The Hunger Games, His Dark Materials and Horrible Histories. In every role, including this one at Reedsy, I’ve looked for writing that mixes the familiar with the truly original: the holy grail of every publishing success, whether it’s a memoir or a chapter book.

For this week’s contest, I wanted an atmospheric theme. I’ve just moved back to my homeland – Wales – and I now live by the sea. I’m frequently struck by its moods and tidal changes, the way it lights the land around me and interacts with the people who choose to live beside it, sail upon it or swim in it.

Using one of the five prompts below, I invite you to think about the sea in all the roles it plays in the world, from its limitless horizons to the way its lore has infiltrated our language.

Special Update: The Results 🏆

Lisa's top pick for her takeover was "The Water House" by Kelsey R Davis. Here's what Lisa had to say about it:

A wholly original take on the prompt, delivering surprise after surprise as the story unfolds. There’s so much potential here. I love how the pace of the narrative matches that of a huge wave, building towards a most unexpected crest. What starts as “A seaside slice of family-friendly suburbia” swells into a Hallowe’en nightmare, and we’re not even sure if it really happened because the narrator is unreliable twice over – possibly high, possibly a ghost, possibly both. It’s a daring, courageous concept with a perfectly timed seasonal hook – we’ve even got a kid dressed as Diane Keaton – and Desperate Housewives-style commentary from Virginia. Bravo.

Congratulations to contest winner Kelsey R Davis and the runners-up, Rebecca Hurst and Alexander Francis!