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First: Carousel by Katharine Orton Second: Swamp Monster by Ceri Lowe-Petraske Third: Blast from the Past by Michael Kirby Click on the titles to read the three winning stories
Highly Commended: Davy Jones' Lock-up by Steve Startup
Judge’s Report for the first quarter’s competition 2015 from Darren J Guest
1st: Carousel Carousel is a beautifully crafted portrait of domestic violence that draws the reader along the doomed pathway of the victim, and lets us experience, and most importantly understand, the way in which the victim rationalises and repeatedly submits to the ongoing emotional blackmail of an abusive partner. It also highlights a unique perspective within this dynamic: the brief empowerment of the victim: I’m formidable now you’re weak. Now your rage has burned out and your fists have turned inwards again. I found this an excruciatingly sad line, both for its naivety and for the emptiness of the threat, but it’s from this higher place the victim draws her strength to forgive, damning herself to the same cycle of abuse in the process. Add to this powerful narrative a simple but wholly effective metaphor, and Carousel becomes a very worthy winner.
2nd: Swamp Monster Swamp Monster is a story far greater than the sum of its parts. The prose is spacious and easy, but the reader is cozened into filling the void between what is not said with the larger narrative at play, a narrative that is positively sweat-soaked. I laugh, thinking of those airless rooms on Bourbon Street where we screwed on voodoo mats with the night sounds of the French Quarter filtering through white shutters. Bats, bones and marble graveyards glistening in the July moonlight. Deft touches like this drip through the open pores of this piece. The atmosphere is evocative, provocative, and the sin that lies at the black heart of this tale can almost be – if not forgiven – understood. The southern fever that infects our blasphemous pair is to blame here, and jazz is the score of their temporary insanity. But when sanity is returned, and the temperature of the fever is brought down – both in climate and in the coldblooded nature of the father – all that has gone before seems dreamlike, and speaks volumes for the skill of the writer.
3rd: Blast from the Past In Blast from the Past, tone, rhythm and voice all come together to build an authentic characterisation of our compressed narrator. When we go from hateful lines like this: The gun is suddenly in my hand. I shoot her taunting, drug-ugly smile. To a tender line like this: …and grasping the note as though I am holding him to me I weep, and weep and weep for my son. – the spectrum of emotion that is covered in such a short space of time is not only believable, but heartfelt. And given the brevity of this piece – a mere 371 words in length – a framed narrative is effortlessly interwoven, leaving no doubt as to the skill and craftsmanship that has gone into creating this wonderful story.
Highly Commended: Davy Jones’ Lock-up Davy Jones’ Lock-up is a feast of language and voice – opulent and immersive, yet buoyant with underlying humour: We donned our long clothes and strolled among the lubbers, the Captain drawing many stares on account of his fearsome appearance. It was his practice to thread black ribbons in his beard, with curious baubles and bibelots a-dangling therefrom. At first glance it appears the story isn’t taking itself too seriously – the writer having too much fun – but the narrative is struck through with historical detail that betrays a deeper understanding of the material. Marry this to the lively prose and you have a deceptively understated piece of writing, written by a very fine writer.
We now regularly receive several hundred entries each quarter, so those making the long and short lists should feel very proud.
Short Listed Entries — in alphabetical order
Au Revoir by Anita Goodfellow Baby Talk by Claire Demaine Blast from the Past by Michael Kirby Bulls-eye by Michael Seese Buried Souls by Sally Lane Carousel by Katharine Orton Cloud Cuckoo by Sharon Bennett Come Again by Samuel Poots Davy Jones' Lock-up by Steve Startup Forked Tongue by Hazel Osmond He Brought Me Orchids by Ceri Lowe-Petraske Likes by Vicky Savage Maybe Next Time by Sheila Good On by Jacqueline Winn Sea Front by Ren Watson Small Creatures by Catherine Edmunds Swamp Monster by Ceri Lowe-Petraske The Catch by Christine Griffin The Chief Inspector's Report by John Simmons The Phantom Tide by Michelle Green The Picnic by David Coss The Road to Glastonbury by Ian Burton The Smell by Stéphanie Constans Word Spittle by Julia Anderson You Can Get Everything at the Retail Park by Ceri Lowe-Petraske
Long Listed Entries — in alphabetical order
Alive Audience by Lando Hilton Au Revoir by Anita Goodfellow Baby Talk by Claire Demaine Blast from the Past by Michael Kirby Brittle by Lydia C. Lee Bulls-eye by Michael Seese Buried Souls by Sally Lane Carousel by Katharine Orton Chosen by Gillian Brown Cloud Cuckoo by Sharon Bennett Come Again by Samuel Poots Davy Jones' Lock-up by Steve Startup Forked Tongue by Hazel Osmond HB by Jennifer Harvey He Brought Me Orchids by Ceri Lowe-Petraske Her Choice by Matthew Reynolds Imago by Paul Nicholas In the Café by Sherri Turner Jam Roly-Poly with Custard by Dennis M. Skeet Just the Thing by Christine Griffin Likes by Vicky Savage Local Wolf Found Dead in Soup Cauldron by Alison Clink Lost by Sandra Crook Maybe Next Time by Sheila Good Neighbourliness by Stéphanie Constans No Thanks by Jeanette Lowe Notes on the Windy Mesa Proclamation by Laurence Davies Off by Kathryn Weller Old Feelings by John Bunting Old News by Linda Walden On by Jacqueline Winn Oranges by Kaori Crawford Poppa's Pride by Michael Twist Sea Front by Ren Watson Small Creatures by Catherine Edmunds Swamp Monster by Ceri Lowe-Petraske The Catch by Christine Griffin The Chief Inspector's Report by John Simmons The Phantom Tide by Michelle Green The Picnic by David Coss The Resistance by Riona Judge McCormack The Road to Glastonbury by Ian Burton The Smell by Stéphanie Constans Today, Flowers from the Luftwaffe by Jane Roberts Under Observation by Ceri Lowe-Petraske Under the Sea by Kaori Crawford Undo the Past With Prose by Lucy Steele Word Spittle by Julia Anderson Yellowing by Elinor Smith You Can Get Everything at the Retail Park by Ceri Lowe-Petraske |
