In the spirit of Steven Soderbergh's gorgeous acceptance speech from many years ago, this post sends love and congratulations to every writer who keeps turning up at the page (Julia Cameron's beautiful, trusting phrase, which has held my hand so many times). To everyone writing poems, scripts, novels, plays, lyrics, short stories, creative non-fiction, memoir, reportage – and any other thing that requires the courage to tackle blank pages – congratulations! To unlisted, longlisted, shortlisted, winning, published and yet to be published writers who keep doing that great thing – to writers who are spewing out huge daily word counts, to writers who've thrown it all away and started again, and again, to writers who've survived the battering of another rejection, and lived to face the page again – to writers who are enjoying success and those yet to share their work with other readers – congratulations, stick with it, you are amazing, and thank you,

yours sincerely,

A reader.

ps. Moira Buffini, thank you for the perfect screen adaptation of one of my favourite books, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, serious legend.