The Hate Game” Wins Big in London – And I’m Still Picking My Jaw Up Off the Floor

A memoir of mayhem, laughter, and survival gets a nod from the London Book Festival.

I was certain there’d been a mistake.Perhaps a misprint. A prank. A clerical error.

But no. It’s true. My memoir, The Hate Game: Screaming in Silence, just picked up the Runner-Up Award at the London Book Festival.

A book about trauma, bullying, suicidal ideation, and surviving the 1970s British school system with little more than sarcasm and a steel will… now has a shiny new accolade next to its Literary Titan Gold Award.

Honestly? I’m stunned—and honoured.

The reviews have been pouring in, each one touching me in ways I didn’t expect when I first sat down to exorcise these memories onto the page.

“You won’t want to put it down!”— Stephanie Elizabeth Long, Reader Views (5 stars)

“Powerful, thought-provoking, and brave… a call to speak out against bullying.”— AuthorsReading Review

“The cruelty… took my breath away.”— L.E. Clarke, Readers' Favorite (5 stars)

When I first started writing The Hate Game, I didn’t know if anyone would read it, let alone recognise it with awards. But here we are. A little boy screaming in the dark has found his voice—and it’s echoing in unexpected places.

Thank you to the London Book Festival, to the readers who’ve cried and laughed with me, and to every survivor still trying to make sense of their past. This one’s for you.

Stay loud. Stay funny.

Stay honest. Keep Smiling.

Gary