From Writer to Reader in 25 Years

This post is by Sue Borgersen (who writes as S.B. Borgersen). She was member of Pens Around the World from 2021 till 2023.
Read more about Sue on our Friends of Pens page here.

Firstly, thank you to members of PENS for inviting me to write this blog. It has given me
cause to take stock of where I am in my writing career.

Truth is, I’m done.

It has been quite a ride. 25 years since taking a creative writing course at the local
community college. 25 years of understanding the fundamentals of writing. 25 years of
finding the genres that would steal my heart. 25 years of writing workshops. 25 years of
belonging to wonderful writing groups. A quarter of a century of weaving through the
intricacies of the traditional publishing industry. A mountain of other publications.
Seriously, a tower. And now heaving a big sigh that it is all over. And that I actually did it.
But I am done. As an octogenarian I’ve come to understand that there is still life to be
seized, people to spend time with and places to discover. Experiences to savour. And
that’s where Thelma comes in.

Thelma is my new-to-me Thunderbird convertible 2-seater. She’s a 2005 50th
anniversary limited edition of the classic 1955 T-bird. And with the coming spring,
journeys beckon. Canada, with all its wonder, tempts.

I haven’t completely exited the literary arena though; I have a new role as a volunteer
reader for the Scottish Arts Trust Writing Awards (the Edinburgh Writing Awards).

Last year I was assigned to the Flash Fiction category. I believe I was one of 50 flash
readers worldwide. In September we were given training in the use of Submittable, how
to access the stories, how to rate them, how to zoom-meet colleagues and discuss your
reasonings and listen to theirs and submit your results, round by round. The work came
in fast and furiously. Until late December.

I read hundreds of flash fictions. I read the same stories in early mornings. In the
wearying evenings. When it thundered and rained. When the sun gloriously shone. And
also—when I really didn’t feel like it. It was interesting to see how the stories hit different
emotions each time. I felt that was important.

Being a reader was a lot of work. It was not a quick flip through. It was inspirational—
colleagues said that I was passionate about the role, and it rubbed off. It was not a task
to be taken lightly. It was also quite an eye-opener to be behind the scenes of
submitting work to competitions. Not the black hole I had often imagined over years.

It would have been lovely to attend the awards ceremony in Edinburgh in February;
Thelma may have many things, but she doesn’t have wings! The winning stories were
so worthy of the big prize money and the kudos. I would have loved to meet those talented writers. And now I can put names to stories I will be seeking out their other
publications.

And it was an honour to be trusted to read their work. I have now been informed by The
Scottish Arts Trust that they’d like me to read for the 2025 flash fiction submissions in
September.

2025 is the year my publisher decided to call The Year of the Womxn. Yup, you’ve got it,
they are only publishing works by women this year. Bright red covers. Over 40 books.
And we are reviewing each others work. More reading – what joy.

Today as I write, 1st March 2025, sees the release of my final book, Collected Novellas. I’m looking forward to having many people join me this evening for a virtual champagne launch.

As you see, I am not quite done.

P.S. Belonging to a writing group should never be underestimated. I can’t imagine
writing this blog if writing groups (especially this one) had not been part of my 25-year
writing journey. Thank you.

[And thank you Sue! – PATW Admin]