The TGO Awards 2014

Tonight I have been at the TGO awards event in Kendal. You may remember that my second novel, The Atholl Expedition, was shortlisted for the Outdoor Book of the Year category. I was invited to attend the event in which winners were announced.

Outdoor Book of the Year went to Alan Hinkes, Himalayan veteran and author of 8000m: Climbing the World’s Highest Mountains. However, you’ll notice in the Twitter screenshot above that I was given an honourable mention, along with Chris Townsend and Steve Chilton (both of whom I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting to tonight).

Obviously I would have preferred to have won, but to be honest I’m simply astounded that I got this far in a category dominated by towering figures in the outdoor industry. I must thank all of you for both nominating and voting for the book. I’m assured that a great many books were originally nominated, so the fact that I got so far towards the top says a great deal about the loyalty of my readers.

Lastly, here’s a snap I took of Sir Chris Bonington accepting Outdoor Personality of the Year to an enormous round of applause.