Writer and photographer
Winner
David Abbott, for The Next Good Joy That Mary Had
Runner-up
Dudley Martin, for Spoor
Also shortlisted
Catherine Edmunds, for Winter Needs Watching
Darren Gillen, for Spider, Spider
Carolyn Stockdale, for Chapter 39
Special mention
Samuel Dodson, for The taste of champagne
Lucy Kaur, for The Illustrator
Sarah McPherson, for Ice Age
The runner-up’s story will be published on Saturday, 18th February,
The winner’s story will be published on Sunday, 19th February.
MANY CONGRATULATIONS ALL!
I had 32 entries. They were anonymised for me for judging. I scored each entry out of 10 for each of the following criteria:
All of the shortlisted entries scored over 30. I have also given a special mention to the entries that scored 29.
I will be contacting all those who entered individually. The winner and runner-up will be offered publication. All those shortlisted or given a special mention will receive a couple of lines of feedback.
Congratulations to the authors of the entries listed below. Feel free to broadcast the fact that you have made the shortlist or got a special mention, but please don’t identify which piece is yours until the final results have been announced.
Shortlist
Chapter 39
Spider, Spider
Spoor
The Next Good Joy That Mary Had
Winter Needs Watching
Special mention
Ice Age
The Illustrator
The Taste of Champagne
Come back on Friday 17th February for the announcement of the winner and runner-up, and names of those on the shortlist and with a special mention.
Ice shards
*** Coming at 5pm today ***
I think I may have fallen foul of the new Twitter algorithms, so that some (many?) of those who might be interested in entering my competition didn’t read about it until recently – or at all!
So I’m extending the deadline by a week.
You now have until Friday 10th February, 5pm, UK time.
See my previous post for the picture prompt and all the details.
Send me your best. Any form. I’m looking forward to reading your words.
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to respond to the image below with a piece of creative writing – any form, maximum 500 words. Please observe the usual rules – you don’t need me to spell them out. Essentially, be respectful of others.
Send your entries to me at cath.barton@talktalk.net by 5pm (UK time) on Friday 3rd February. Subject line: Jan 2023 Writing Competition.
Entries will be anonymised on receipt. I will choose one winner, who will be offered publication of their work on this site, plus a surprise book and chocolate. Open to writers worldwide but I can only post the book and chocolate within the UK, sorry. Shortlisted entries may also be published.
Happy writing!
Photo: Cath Barton
Cath Barton 