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January 4th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda - Christie Watson only started writing five years ago
By
Eleanor Harding
Last updated at 11:55 PM on 3rd January 2012
She grew up on a council estate and left school with no A-Levels.
But Christie Watson has just won one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes.
The paediatric nurse, who began writing only five years ago, was last night given the £5,000 accolade for the best first novel by judges at the Costa Book Awards.
Christie Watson, left only started writing five years ago and has now been awarded for her first novel, right
Her novel, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, tells the story of a young Nigerian girl whose world is turned upside down by her father’s affair.
The 35-year-old from South London has been a nurse since leaving home at 16 and training at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
She began writing her novel while on maternity leave, and was later picked up by publisher Quercus.
Miss Watson now goes head-to-head for the overall £30,000 prize with the four other category winners – including Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
She said: ‘When I heard the news, I was totally shocked. It will take a few weeks for it to sink in.
‘I grew up on a council estate in Stevenage and we never had any money, although we were very happy.
‘I always wanted to write. I wrote poetry as a teenager but to actually write as a career was never a pathway that was on my horizon.
‘I feel astonished and very proud to have won – and to be next to people who I have long admired.’
Tiny Sunbirds Far Away was inspired by her Nigerian partner of 11 years, who is a doctor and still has family in the country.
The tale of Blessing, the book’s protagonist, also examines the human impact of the political and social turmoil in the country.
Despite her success, Miss Watson will continue her nursing and still works in London hospitals part-time.
She added: ‘The reasons why I got into nursing and writing are the same.
‘It’s about the human condition – life, death, grief, loss. Both professions are interested in the same questions.’
The other category winners include acclaimed writer Andrew Miller, who scooped best novel for Pure, and former opera singer Moira Young’s futuristic thriller, Blood Red Road, which took out the children’s category.
The winner will be announced on January 24.
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