I am terribly excited about All This Could End making the longlist for the 2014 Gold Inky award, especially alongside such splendid writers (shamefully I've only read 4 out of 10 of these, including the one I wrote. So clearly I have some reading to do). The Inky Awards are for young adult novels, and they're judged by young adults, so obviously I think they're the best thing ever.
If you're 12-20 and in Australia you can apply to be an Inky's judge. I was a judge in 2009 and it was the most exciting thing ever (I got to go to an awards ceremony and everything. I don't know what happened to that pale pink outfit of mine. I probably gave the dress to my sister). This was during my era of 'I have to have my photo taken with everyone and then put it on the internet'.
I've never been on a longlist before. It's all very novel to me. (To be honest I am probably more excited about a longlisting than people get about winning awards. I'm an excitable person. Do you think I've used the word 'excited' enough yet? Exciting, excited, excitable. Maybe I should start using 'thrilled'.)