At last, after weeks of deliberating, we’ve decided on a winner for the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook short story competition 2010.We had well over 1,000 entries for this year’s competition, on the theme of ‘unity’ or ‘union’ and, as usual, standards were high – very high.
Stories were varied and subjects ranged from property issues between England and Wales, to conjoined twins, cloning and severed body parts. Other more ‘out there’ plots told of strange cults performing satanic initiation ceremonies, intergalactic space travel, alien brothels and ghost mice plucking souls.
Interestingly, more than a third of the stories involved conversations in which one or other of the protagonists was smoking cigarettes (of the legal and illegal variety).
When making the choice which story should win, I looked for:
- a strong start that drew me in straight away (those 2,000 words must be chosen carefully);
- an interesting take on the theme that was gripping enough to keep me reading to the end; and
- an ability to craft a complete story with a clear beginning, a distinct middle and a satisfactory end.
The winning entry is ‘In a Grain of Sand’ by Sheena Guz.
» Read the winning story here
The full shortlist appears at the end of this post. Go to the shortlist »
*spoiler warning* It’s a story about a young Buddhist monk who travels to London with two elder monks to produce a ‘mandala’ out of coloured sands in a public library on the third floor of a shopping centre. We hear the monk’s thoughts as works his way through the three-day task of creating the pattern: his anxieties lessen, his judgements change and by the time the mandala is complete, his inner peace is restored and the job of the mandala is done.
I really enjoyed reading Sheena’s story. It has a very calming, soothing quality. She incorporated the theme of unity on several levels: in the grains of sand, in the coming together of different people, beliefs and cultures (do shopping centres unite our desire to spend?) and of time, space and life.
So congratulations to Sheena. She wins £500 plus a coveted place on an Arvon residential writing course as well as having her story published on this site.
We thank everyone who entered the 2010 competition and reassure you there will be many more competitions to come. Keep watching this space.
Warm wishes, Jo
(Editor, Writers' & Artists' Yearbook)
Winning entry:
‘In a Grain of Sand’ by Sheena Guz
The shortlist (alphabetical by author):
'Use Somebody' by Kauren Bartz
'Chilli Jam' by Justin Davies
'Union' by Rosy Edwards
'Journeys End in Lovers Meeting’ by Jennifer Kharibian
'My Beautiful Nemesis' by Craig Melville
'Unity' by Libby O’Loghlin
'A Home at Shady Pines' by Luise Usiskin
'Against their Wishes' by Adam Windsor
'Atelic' by Katie Young
Fran on March 31, 2010
I really enjoyed this story. It drew me into the main character's inner world and kept me with him, wanting to find out how he managed. Good choice of winner, I'd say.
Martha on March 31, 2010
Many congratulations to Sheena Guz, what a beautiful story. I will be sharing it with my family and friends.
All best, Martha
Miller on March 31, 2010
What a disappointing end to your 2010 short story competition. The winning entry was an unengaging, deeply average and clichéd piece of writing by any standards.
Lest I be accused of 'sour grapes', I couldn’t care less at not having won, I didn’t expect to. But what I HAD hoped for was to see a strong and, more importantly, distinctive voice emerging as a result of the competition. Instead we were treated to an unimaginative, run-of-the-mill piece chosen by the Editor of WAYB.
The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is a serious publication and one would have thought it might treat a serious literary form with some respect. Indeed, your short story competition should be, if not in terms of prize money, at least in terms of prestige, one of the beacons of its type.
It is time, I would suggest, that your competition winner is chosen by a panel of judges selected for their skill, experience and perception and who know what good, original writing is actually about.
Catherine Austen on March 31, 2010
This is an amazingly beautiful and moving story.
Adwoa Darko on March 31, 2010
Congratulation Sheena! That was a very good piece of writing. The descriptions were incredibly and the message was very insightful. Compared to yours mine looks like a drop of ink on a paper, lol.
Well done! We'll do better next time. Peace. ^_^