For full details of the results, choose a category:
For full details of the results, choose a category:
FIRST PRIZE - Linda Booth
SECOND PRIZE - Sion Scott-Wilson
THIRD PRIZE - Tresham Mayhew
FIRST PRIZE - Joanne Riccioni
SECOND PRIZE - Bridget Adams
THIRD PRIZE - Judy Strachan
FIRST PRIZE - Susan R Hartnell-Beavis
SECOND PRIZE - Steve Leighton
THIRD PRIZE - Ian Milburn
The national and international response to our competition was overwhelming, and the judging team felt privileged to read so many enjoyable and fascinating stories and chapters. The standard was extremely high across the board. Quite frankly, to have succeeded in completing a piece of work, and then to find the gumption to send it to a competition is quite wonderful and all entrants should feel proud. We found much to admire in the entries, and many had all necessary components in place, and created a composite and balanced piece of work. There were, however, several points that the judging team felt might prove helpful to entrants in all categories to enable them to develop existing skills.
There was a noticeable preponderance of undiluted dark plots, many without a hint of hope or uplifting emotion. It was felt that had these stories been handled with a more delicate touch, with perhaps more of a hint at the darkness, rather than a hammer blow, with a sense of development and hope, rather than total despair, the mix would have been much more potent and engrossing. In a few cases, there was also a tendency to create a predictable plot, and present that plot with a predictable 'voice' or style. It takes time (almost an apprenticeship) to learn to delve into the creative imagination, and get in touch with your own unique way of looking at the world and situations, and to then SHOW this in a three dimensional scene.
It is this ability that is elusive, hard won, but totally essential. The author must evoke a vibrant and believable world.
In many cases this was achieved, and to everyone we wish you good luck on your writing journey and many thanks for giving us so many enjoyable hours.
Margaret Graham
| Linda Booth | Lavender Pool | UK |
| Vivien's comments: "Lavender Pool immediately transported me to the height of summer in Provence. The characters were swiftly established and interesting. The lures of intrigue and suspense are there and I did want to discover what happened to the characters…I would urge Linda Booth to carry on writing. " |
Linda tells us she was brought up in Leicestershire, studied English Literature at Cardiff University and has since spent nearly thirty years in Somerset. Linda was always keen to write, but life constantly 'got in the way.' Earning a living, first as a primary teacher, then as a coordinator of volunteers for Social Services, alongside coping as a single parent of two children for four years, then bringing up a 'reconstituted' family of four children, meant that writing was forever on the back burner.
At last, with children grown and flown, Linda started 'The Lavender Pool', her first novel, five years ago. It's set in Provence, an area she's grown to love, having holidayed there for the past twenty years. It's no accident that two of the main characters are commissioned to take black and white photographs for a travel book called, 'Disappearing Provence', and that there are many references in 'The Lavender Pool' to well known images taken by famous photographers.
Linda herself takes black and white photographs, developing her own negatives and printing them in a dark room which doubles as the utility room. Her prints are exhibited at The Tessa Gilks Gallery, Axminster. Linda's last large exhibition, 'Glimpses of Venice', was in Bath at the Royal Literary and Scientific Institute. At the moment Linda is working on a second novel, this time set in Venice. Linda's ambition is to have a novel published, which would include her own black and white images of the novel's setting.
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| Sion Scott-Wilson | Somnabuland | Singapore |
| Vivien's comments: " Somnabulant has a very bold ambitious plot. One is easily drawn into meeting a cast of extraordinary characters. The cameo roles and set scenes are powerful and memorable… " |
| Siôn Scott-Wilson tells us she was born in the UK, has lived and worked in Europe, the Middle East, Australasia and Asia. Her short stories have been published in a variety of UK and international magazines, and her first novel 'Thicker Than Water', was short listed for the 2004 Fish Publishing prize. She is currently fine-tuning her play: 'Jam'. |
| Tresham Mayhew | Meanwhile Back at the Pie Factory | UK |
| Vivien's comments: "Meanwhile, Back at the Pie Factory has a rather shambolic reporter trying to come to terms with his day to day existence alongside a murder mystery unfolding. There is a wide ranging plot emerging and some good characters with the promise of laughter too. The author appears confidently in control of the material…" |
| Tresham Mayhew tells us he is a former journalist and editor. In earlier life he delivered newspapers, sold greengrocery, worked in an explosives factory and served with the Royal Military Police during the Suez emergency - all excellent preparation, he says, for the knockabout trade of journalism. |
| Dr Miriam Burke | The Sky is Good for Flying | UK |
| Glynis West | The Inheritance | France |
| Peter Anderson | The Music Teacher | UK |
| Nicola Richardson | Re-inventing the Landscape | UK |
| Kate Daubney | Rising Up | UK |
| Harry Allen | Ikorodu Road | Singapore |
| Tamsin Reeves | A Place of Safety | UK |
| Colin Cross | The Last Rat | UK |
| Margaret Batteson | Ricochet | UK |
| Jai Clare | The Storyhouse | UK |
| Kate Frost | The Butterfly Storm | UK |
| Veronica Birch | The Concubine's Garden | UK |
| Michael O'Byrne | A Pathless Land | UK |
| Jenny Newman | Foxton | UK |
| Lillian C Ng | The Life and Times Of Sam Poo | Australia |
| Val Lee | Voice Time | UK |
| Jenifer Antell | Exorcising Ghosts | UK |
| B. Gleadow | From Elvis with Love | UK |
| Anne Brooke | Maloney's Law | UK |
| Tina de Silva | Some Other Island | UK |
| Dr Miriam Burke | The Sky is Good for Flying | UK |
| Glynis West | The Inheritance | France |
| Peter Anderson | The Music Teacher | UK |
| Nicola Richardson | Re-inventing the Landscape | UK |
| Kate Daubney | Rising Up | UK |
| Harry Allen | Ikorodu Road | Singapore |
| Tresham Mayhew | Meanwhile Back at the Pie Factory | UK |
| Sion Scott-Wilson | Somnabuland | Singapore |
| Linda Booth | Lavender Pool | UK |
| Joanne Riccioni | These Girls of Today | Australia |
| Nikki's comments: " A beautifully written, deeply satisfying short story. I love the voice and the rhythm of the language; it reminds me a little of Marguerite Duras' The Lover. The central female characters are brought vividly to life with great economy and skill, and the evocation of another era is wonderful. A story that shines - I do hope the writer attempts a novel at some point. " |
Joanne Riccioni tells us she did a Masters in Medieval Literature at Leeds University and is still reading her way towards the 21st century. A year ago, at the age of 36, she started writing fiction to keep her brain alive in between singing Disney songs and making play dough for her two small children. After placing in a few short story competitions she has finally worked up the guts to begin a novel that has been simmering in her head for about fifteen years.
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| Bridget Adams | Eve Bites First | UK |
| Nikki's comments: "A memorable cheeky short story. It's a lovely idea well executed, (although perhaps Adam is a little too one-dimensionally thick!) But the writer's wickedly dry sense of humour had me chuckling out loud - a delightful read." |
| Bridget tells us. 'I'm an educational writer in psychology and communication studies. I love to write and have two novels and travel writing in progress: my short stories are purely for pleasure and to amuse friends. I'm a member of the Society of Authors and founder of the High Wycombe writers' group, 'Wyewrite'. |
| Judy Strachan | The Recalcitrant Heroine | UK |
| Nikki's comments: " Cleverly structured. I particularly enjoyed how the reader warms to Cordelia as she becomes more human - the character uncurls along with the story. It makes me hungry for more: what adventure does the non-Cordelia anti-heroine go on next? " |
| Judy Strachan tells us she lives in Leeds and works as a part-time lecturer. She writes a regular column for The New Writer, and has had several short stories published. Two years ago she became a student again and is on the final leg of a MA in 20th Century English Literature. |
| Anne Ryan | The Pipe Player | UK |
| Adrian Patrick | They will stay that way | UK |
| Ruth Hall | The Oil Painting | UK |
| Anna Thomson | Carpet Burns | UK |
| Beverley Iris | The Frog and Nightgown | UK |
| Kate Kelly | The Trees | UK |
| Sion Scott-Wilson | Fruit | Singapore |
| Joanne Riccioni | All in the Head | Australia |
| Anne Ryan | The Pipe Player | UK |
| Adrian Patrick | Autumn | UK |
| Judy Strachan | The Recalcitrant Heroine | UK |
| Bridget Adams | Eve Bites First | UK |
| Joannne Riccioni | These Girls of Today | Australia |
| Susan R Hartnell-Beavis | Autumn | UK |
| Julie's comments: " A beautifully written piece of work, told in the first person, with wonderful dialogue, revealing the pressures we often impose upon ourselves. A story of keeping up appearances, self-imposed limitations and the brilliant realisation that we, in fact, control our own lives. Congratulations, Susan. A deserving winner." |
Susan tells us. 'My husband and I moved to Blackford, Wincanton, 21 years ago and I have continued to live there since he died. I have a married son and daughter and two grandchildren. I started to write in Scotland, but this is the first fiction I have produced for a long time.
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| Steve Leighton | Doorbell Blues | UK |
| Julie's comments: " Doorbell Blues is a very contemporary story, written in a typical, thoughtful, 'My Weekly' tone. A story of pretences, a tale of a hope-filled future and a desire for romance to which most of us can relate. Well done, Steve'. " |
| Steve tells us he's 52, married with two children, a former teacher of Science, now a library assistant in central Somerset. He has had three short stories published in magazines and one awarded the Canongate Prize for New Writing in 2001. He is currently working on a novel and a non-fiction book about a long-distance walk. |
| Ian Milburn | New Friends | UK |
| Julie's comments: " A lovely, gentle story that takes us on a regular trip to the park. The ending takes us by surprise, but it is only when we reread that we realise all the hints were there, subtly woven into the text." |
| Ian tells us: I am 67 years old and a retired science teacher. Since retiring I have written many stories for pleasure; have had one published in a book of short stories (unpaid!) and another published in the Newcastle Journal newspaper (also unpaid!). |
| Patricia Dent | Ace | UK |
| Steve Leighton | Mr Leighton Gets it Wrong | UK |
| Val Paxton | Proposal By Post | UK |
| Robyn Santiago | Midsummer Madness | UK |
| Chip Tolson | Books for Alice | UK |
| Patricia Dent | Ace | UK |
| Steve Leighton | Mr Leighton Gets it Wrong | UK |
| Val Paxton | Proposal By Post | UK |
| Ian Milburn | New Friends | UK |
| Steve Leighton | Doorbell Blues | UK |
| Susan R Hartnell-Beavis | Autumn | UK |