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roannelau on Instagram: "Still stunned by this news!Finally got around to making my own post about winning the Aurealis Award. I wanted to share a snippet o…"
Still stunned by this news!Finally got around to making my own post about winning the Aurealis Award. I wanted to share a snippet of my acceptance speech with you all. Thank you to everyone who has supported The Serpent Called Mercy—whether you read it, recommended it, reviewed it, or simply cheered it on. Seeing this story travel so far has been one of the most surreal experiences of my life 🙇🏻♀️—I thought of sharing the video of my speech, but I cannot listen to myself speak without wanting to fling myself into the ocean, so we’re skipping that today!—My speech in full: I am absolutely stunned to win this. Thank you so much to the judges of the Aurealis Awards for this incredible honour.My eternal gratitude to the people who believed in my book from the very beginning: my editor Amanda Raybould at @solarisbooks in the UK, my agent @keiralekseii, my US publisher @dawbooks, my mentor @saaraelarifi, and of course—the phenomenal @newdawnpub team for bringing my book to Australia.I was thirteen years old when I moved from Malaysia to Australia. I remember exactly how I felt back then: very small, very anxious, and very overwhelmed with the distinct feeling that I did not belong—and never would.I wish there was a way I could reach back in time and tell that little girl that one day, her debut novel—filled to the brim with Malaysian references, and starring a neurodivergent woman struggling to find her place in the world—would resonate with a panel of Australian judges and receive an award like this.Thank you for proving that little girl wrong.
