New Zealand scoops the honours in August competition
I have judged our August winners in Fiona’s absence and have selected as my first place Jeff Taylor, from Hamilton, New Zealand, for his story Lookaway. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of a man infatuated by a drug addict. It‘s simply written, powerful and with a growing sense of tension. And because it tells the story of a respectable man breaking all the rules as he spirals into a desperately difficult situation, it works even better. Jeff, who was also shortlisted for another story during August‘s competition, wins £100.
Second place, highly commended and winning £25, went to My Dearest John, by Fay Norton, of Leeds, in the UK. I love stories written as letters, in this case one to a dearly loved one. This story is simply told, full of emotion but not milked to within an inch of its life. And it’s one of those stories where you kind of guess the end but the story is none the worse for it. It’s a story for our times. I have selected one commended story, by Paddy Butler of North Devon, in the UK. Like Jeff Taylor, Paddy had two stories on the shortlist: it’s the first time we have had writers getting two stories onto the list.
I love Paddy’s story Morgan’s Birthday, which earned its commendation because it is full of humour yet serious at the same time. The theme of a normal person plunged into extraordinary events makes for a truly entertaining story. A perfect example of a writer asking ‘what if?‘
I’ll try to get the winners on the site later this month so you can enjoy them as much as I did.
The other writers on the shortlist were:
Meris Shuwarger, US,
Cain Smith, UK
Paul Duffy, Ireland
Andrew Jones, UK
Dion Dhorne, UK.
Fiona says she will be back judging our September competition and there is still plenty of time to enter.
John Dean