As last year, the standard of entries was impressive. So many had winning qualities – compelling plots, brilliant characterisation, skilful crafting. Choosing the winner from so many excellent entries was no easy task but here, after much deliberation, rereading and discussion, are the choices of our expert and passionate selection panel.
1st Place: Paradise Empire by Athena Abrams
“Original, told with honesty, compelling and disturbing.”
2nd Place: Vampire Metropolis by Robin Brown
““Ingenious, humourous, not your usual vampire novel …”
3rd place: The Line of Least Resistance by Jeff Richards
“Powerfully intriguing, original, disquieting. A crime story with a difference.”
Short Listed Chapters:
Hello, Can I Help You? - Sylvia Leatham Paupers and Lunatics - Rachel Despict
Long Listed Authors:
Anne Wilson Andrea Clough Bayden McDonald Bernie McQuillan
Cassie Smith-Christmas Charlotte Breadner Chris Caci Chris Ringrose
Christopher Keene Colleen Prendergast Cynthia Anderson David
McVey Denny Jace Ewan McLeish Garth Pettersen Isobel Roach
Jonathan Kerridge-Phipps June O’Sullivan Kate Redmond Karen
Lawrence Kim Ben Porat Lisa Lopez Smith Lucy Apps Lucy Steeds Ludmilla vander
Have Maira Bakenova Maurice Carlin Michelle Shine Morgan Hatch
Peter Dunn Rachael Despicht
Rebecca Lewis Smith Sean Coffrey Stephen Bridger Timothy Jay Smith
Huge congratulations to all the short and long-listed writers.
Each of the chapters entered by these authors were deserving in their own way and our panel had an unenviably difficult job to select whittle them down the short list. So many of the entered chapters just missed, but each single one promised a novel we would have been happy to read.
