Competition Results

1st Place:     Blank State – Mary Hannah Terzino

Judge’s Comments:  A fascinating exploration of relationships – both those with other people and those with ourselves. I was particularly interested in how the topic of body image was handled which is a difficult issue to successfully manage in a work of fiction. The dark humour laced through this piece prompted the reader to examine their own attitudes towards this particular topic.

2nd Place:   Thaw – Susan Hettinger

Judge’s Comments: This piece sensitively explores the relationship women have with the wider world. Both the desire to be a part of it and the danger that awaits them when they are. The characters in this story are well-drawn, the narrator’s voice is compelling throughout.

3rd Place:   Silent Signal – Jean Roarty

Judges’s Comments:  This is a bold piece of fiction which examines problematic and pertinent issues that have been particularly highlighted in recent months. These are issues that are not talked about as much as they should be, which is why it is all the more important to see them explored in fiction.

Shortlisted Entries

Oration – David Butler
A Yearning for Bananas – Taria Karillion,
Silent Signal – Jean Roarty,
Thaw – Susan Hettinger
Sealed Move – Wanda Dakin
Blank State – Mary Hannah Terzino
All the Fun of the Fair – Gwenda Major
The Glassblower … – Denny Telford
Nature Abhors a Vacuum – Louis Rossi
Forgive Us Our Sins – Kane Taylor

Longlisted entrants (30)
Ruth Alessi, Gayle Beveridge, James Beaumont, Dianne Bown-Wilson, Jo Borrill, Christopher Caci, Yvonne Clarke, Seán Cullivan, Frances Dalton, Jenny Darmody, Lesley Devall, Connor Duggan, Jennifer Linds Fennell, Christine Anne Foley, Ken Havey, Colm Herron, Thea Hirsi, Anna Holmes, Alan Kennedy, Pam Laird, Jill Lewis, Jo Mawby, Jo Mularczyk, Laila Player, Gareth Powe, Katherine Reeve, Lauren Robinson, Noemi Scheiring-Olah, Sue Whytock , Gillian Wills

Our Flash Fiction judge is Yorkshire-born author and poet, Helen Cox. She lives by the sea in Sunderland UK where she writes Mysteries set in Yorkshire, and steamy historical romance novellas. Helen also hosts the Poetrygram podcast and teaches an annual poetry masterclass at Keats House in London.