Anstruther RNLI Volunteer wins three American book awards

Richard MacDonald, a volunteer crew member on Anstruther's all-weather lifeboat, Kingdom of Fife, and aspiring author, was awarded a gold medal in the historical fiction category by the Military Writers Society of America at their 2019 conference. The novel was already named one of three finalists in the military fiction category at the 2019 American Fiction Awards and won the military fiction category in America's 2019 Independent Press Awards earlier this year.

Richard has been a volunteer crew member at Anstruther RNLI for the past two years. While juggling life as a director of a small research company, volunteer crew member and author, Richard has completed a sequel to his debut novel and has his next writing venture lined up. This time a fictional, murder mystery novel based around a lifeboat crew, entitled 'The Brotherhood of the sea.'

Coxswain at Anstruther RNLI, Michael Bruce has commended Richard on his success with his novel. He said: 'All lifeboat crews are dedicated to saving lives at sea and all come from a wide range of occupations, but an award-winning author is a little unusual so we are proud to have him as part of our team here in Anstruther.'

The novel is available to buy on amazon.

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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