Short Story Competitions Poetry Competitions

WritersReign "I Have A Dream"
Competition 2013

Competition Winners

Congratulations to our three main prize winners, and a big 'well done' for the three 'Highly Commended' stories.

Main Prizes were: 1st - £100.00, 2nd - £50.00 and 3rd - £25.00.

'Highly Commended' status has been awarded to three stories and will receive £10 each.

Our judge, Frances Clamp, is the author of several books, both fiction and non-fiction. She has also written many short stories which have been published in national magazines. Her output includes: for children, a trilogy and a fantasy adventure book, and in the non-fiction sphere, books on local history.

Here are the links to the Prize Winning stories:

1st Prize - Nothing But a Hound Dog by Gillian Sharp
Judges comment: At first I didn't like the idea of a story told by a dog. Most markets for short stories reject scripts with an animal as the central character and writing in the first person. However, this was very well written and the writer made the reader believe in the central character. Well done!
2nd Prize - Free to Fly by Susan Row
Judges comment: This very well written story built up to a most satisfying conclusion. Usually dialogue helps to move the story along and this contained very little. However, it worked and the reader quickly became involved in the problems of both Helena and her mother and grandmother. Well done!
3rd Prize - The Man at the Allotments by Veronica Bright
Judges comment: This is a gentle story with a satisfying ending. The growing relationship between the man and the boy is well developed and the dialogue is believable and helps to move the story along. Well done!
Highly Commended - Beyond the Green Bay Tree by Norman Kitching
Judges comment: You managed to give a good impression of the period and the depressing side of Mary' s early life. Dialogue, when used, moved the story along very well and I liked the way you concluded with hope for a better future.
Highly Commended - Mad Bulls and Englishmen by Stephen Hands
Judges comment: This was well written and presented and included humour - always a plus! The story built up to a very satisfying conclusion.
Highly Commended - Beneath the Birches by Jill Hayns
Judges comment: Thisis well written and leads on to a very satisfying conclusion. The slightly supernatural element in the middle adds depth to the story. Well done.

A total of twelve stories were short listed for the competition and the prize winners were selected from those. The stories from the short list that didn't quite make it are given here along with the judge's comment:

"Awake" by Peter Pleydell

This is a rather disturbing story but it is well written and made the reader want to learn more. It is certainly different!

"Frida's Double" by Andrew Campbell Kearsey

This is an interesting idea and your main character is well developed. During the sory there is the hint that she is overweight then, on the final page, you reveal she is black and wasn't born a woman. This is a fine surprise ending.

"Do Re Mi" by Gillian Brown

This is an unusual idea and the story is well told. Writing in the present tense is quite difficult, but you handled the problem well. Your conclusion was very satisfactory.

"In the Stars" by E Norry

Although the idea of a horoscope changing a life is not unusual you dealt with it well and the story was interesting and built up to a very satisfying conclusion.

"Thank You for The Music" by Natalie Kleinman

This is a well written, satisfying story leading on to a very encouraging conclusion. Well done.

"Bridge of Dreams" by Sue Wilsea

This is a well written story leading on to an excellent twist ending. The characters are well developed A little more dialogue would have helped with the pace of the work.

My thanks to everyone who entered their stories into the competition. If your story didn't manage to win a prize this time don't be discouraged. Every competition is different, the judges are different and different judges are looking for different things as they will usually say in the terms and conditions. Writing for competitions is one of the best ways to hone your story telling skills so do keep writing.

Mervyn Love, Editor

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