Debut novella by WeesperNieuws columnist Nora Schenk appears today

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Art & culture

WEESP – Heart of Autumn, the debut novella by our regular columnist Nora Schenk, is available as an e-book from today. Last September, Nora won the Cozy & Crime writing competition of De Verhalenfabriek with this feel-good novella and thus won a publishing contract.

“I find it quite exciting! Because now everyone can read Heart of Autumn and therefore also find something about it.” Nora writes her monthly column for the WeesperNieuws and she works as a freelance copywriter, but she has never written a novella before. Until last spring. “I’ve wanted to write a book for a while. A feel-good novel, because that is a genre that suits me well. Then I saw a call for a writing competition. The assignment was to write a novella of approximately 25,000 words on the theme of autumn. Then I thought: a novella – so a short book – is perfect to start with! And I immediately had an idea what my story would be about. And so Heart Autumn was born.”

The heart of autumn

Of the 62 entries for the Cozy & Crime writing competition, the jury selects Nora’s Hartje Autumn as the winner. She wins a publishing contract. Today, on November 5, 2023, Heart of Autumn will be published as an e-book.

The story is about Lizzy Stevens, owner of a bookstore. Lizzy is single, loves cooking and makes it her life’s mission to find and promote unknown writers in her cozy bookstore. But then a major bookstore chain opens a branch right next to its bookstore. She can’t stand Bram, the arrogant manager of the bookstore chain, even though he is a sight to behold. When the autumn committee decides that Lizzy should work with Bram to organize a book exchange for charity during the Autumn Fair, Lizzy is very disappointed. And Bram doesn’t seem happy either. He quickly gets out of his way every time something needs to be arranged. What does he have to hide?

Just dream away for a moment

Nora smiles. “The bookstore in Heart of Autumn is called Lectori Salutem. I was of course inspired by the antique store Lectori Salutem that used to be in the Slijkstraat. But Weespers might recognize Pezzi Pazzi in the Lectori Salutem bookstore in Heart of Autumn, because that was the setting I had in mind while writing.”

She hopes that many readers will enjoy her novella. “It is an autumnal feel-good, with a touch of humor and of course a lot of love. Perfect for reading warmly under a blanket on the couch, with a steaming cup of tea and cookies within reach. Then you can forget all the misery in the world for a few hours and just dream away with a nice story.”

Are you curious about Heart of Autumn, Nora Schenk’s debut novella? You can order the e-book here.