We held our latest meeting in-person at Newark Library and were treated to a great workshop with crime writer Stephen Booth (our plotting of a medieval murder mystery set in Lincoln cathedral was wonderful fun). Our judge for the Flash Fiction competition, Anne Howkins, was also present to announce the winning entries:
“Firstly, my thanks to everyone who entered. It is a daunting prospect to send your writing out into a public forum for it to be judged! I enjoyed reading the stories and it was not an easy task to select the top three.
Some entries ruled themselves out at the first hurdle, because, despite some lovely descriptive writing on the theme of ‘Colour’, there was little, or no discernible story arc. Above all, flash should tell a story, with an opening which catches the reader’s attention and a satisfactory ending. Brevity should not be at the cost of telling a story.
My top six revealed themselves quite early in the judging process. I read them over and over again, shuffling the order several times until reaching the final order.”
Commended Entries:
- True Colours by Martin Costello of Newark
- Zesty by Dora Esza of Blunham, Beds.
- The Cow by Janey Harvey of Newark
Third Place: Clueless by Linda Cooper of Newark
Second Place: No White Flag by David Smith of Ilkeston
First Place: Blue Devils and Pink Elephants by Lynda Turner of Swadlincote
Thanks to all who participated! We’ll get the top three entries up on the website to read as soon as we can.
Don’t forget that our SFF Short Story competition closes at 23:59 on Saturday 16 October 2021!
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