82-Year-Old Grandmother Lands Three-Book Deal

If the 20 Under 40 list has you spooked, never fear–82-year-old novelist Myrrha Stanford-Smith has landed a book deal for a trilogy about the relationship between the great writers William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. After working her whole life as an actor and acting teacher, Stanford-Smith wrote her first novel late in life.

Here’s the grandmother’s reaction, from BBC News: “‘I had to put the phone down and ring them back as I was so taken aback by the whole thing,’ she said. ‘I’d been waiting for the manuscript to be sent back really, rejected. It was such a wonderful surprise,’”

The Wales-based writer sent her first novel The Great Lie to Honno Press–unexpectedly landing a three-book deal. Her publisher generated a fair amount of press over the deal. The publisher of Welsh women authors recently posted this note: “we have been overwhelmed with manuscripts and are currently not accepting any more until October 1st, 2010.”

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.