Although I had an idea that an announcement would be coming up, the phone call from Soroptimist International took me completely by surprise. I was delighted to learn that my novel A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing had made it into the final twelve manuscripts for the 2012 SI Leeds Prize.
The prize is a new award for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian women resident in the UK, and an initiative of Soroptimist International of Leeds working in partnership with Ilkley Literature Festival and Peepal Tree Press.
I’m so pleased to have been selected along with the other eleven writers, and I look forward to seeing who goes through to the shortlist.
A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing, set in the Japanese city of Ōsaka, draws on my experience of living and working in that country, as well as my own mixed heritage. The stories my late mother used to tell me have been a particular inspiration. If you are interested, you can find out more about my novel by visiting the Writing page of this website.
Emily Midorikawa 
Well done, Emily! This is brilliant news. A TINY SPECK OF BLACK AND THEN NOTHING is a beautiful and compelling novel – full of page turning intrigue, complex characterisation and poetic descriptions of Japan. I can’t wait to hear more about the prize…
Thanks so much, Emma. I really do appreciate those kind words. I hope your writing is going well.
Brilliant Em, an exciting twist to the summer and one that is thoroughly deserved for a book full of beauty, mystery and the hot Osaka nights x
Thanks very much for your lovely comment, Erica.