2023 DRABBLE COMPETITION WINNERS
TRIGGER WARNING: The third story on the winner’s page might be a little graphic for some readers.
Prizes:
First Place: £300
Second Place: £200
Third Place: £100
Runner Ups:
Due to the number of entries for this contest and the closeness of the scores in a writing challenge with such a small word count, we are only listing the runner ups. These are the writers whose entries were (according to the judges) a hair’s breadth from the top 3 stories.
Laura Theis, Larry Winger, Sally Tate, Deb Waters, Georgia May, Rowan Swatridge, Karen Darger, Kassie Ellis, Robert Smith, Roxanne Kubiak, Charlene Mertz, Allie Rosenthal, Malcolm Todd.
ABOUT OUR WINNERS
FIRST PLACE:
Robert Burns
Robert Burns has been writing serious short fiction since the dark days of August, 2020.
A writer in many genres, his stories have been published in several anthologies, including a fantasy story focusing on Novel Characters, a piece of detective fiction, and the first chapter of an historic novel currently in the works. Of note is that all of these began life as short stories for Globe Soup.
When not reading or writing, Robert is trying hard to become a retired Architect so he can write fiction full-time. He makes his home in Richmond, Virginia.
Readers can also find his work online at his own WordPress site, Robert Burns: Chapter Next. www.robertcburns.wordpress.com
SECOND PLACE:
Anne Thomason
Anne Thomason lives in York with her husband and three sons. A graduate of the University of Oxford, she wrote her first ‘novel’ at the age of eight, following this with two more before leaving primary school. Later, other interests, such as playing the bassoon, took priority. She now teaches music to small children and performs in charity concerts with her wind quartet. She enjoys writing fiction for pleasure and is particularly interested in exploring emotions and relationships.
THIRD PLACE:
Jay McKenzie
British writer Jay lives on Australia’s Gold Coast with her fiancé, daughter and a dog called Duck. Her micro, flash and short stories have been published in numerous publications and anthologies, including Unleash Lit Magazine, Cerasus Magazine, Leicester Writes and Fabula Nivalis. She won the 2022 Exeter Short Story Prize, Fabula Aestas 2023, the fifth Writers Playground challenge and is a two time winner of AWC’s Furious Fiction. She was shortlisted for the 2022 Exeter Novel Prize and the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her debut novel Mim and Wiggy’s Grand Adventure will be published in September 2023 with Serenade Publishing.
FIRST PLACE
Robert Burns
Night Train
Oncoming farmhouses race by through the tattered lace of darkness, lit only by the watchful eye of a buttery moon. There are rarely lights inside this late; everyone long gone to bed.
I like traveling at night, especially by train. I always sleep easily in broad daylight, but hardly ever after dark.
We pass through seemingly abandoned vagrant towns, red lights flashing at empty crossings. The lonely train whistle warns no one as it performs its duet with the crossing bells.
The girl across the aisle in front of me wakes. Yawning, she stretches her arms and, noticing me, smiles.
SECOND PLACE
Anne Thomason
The Secret of a Long (and Happy) Marriage
A cliché. A hair on his collar. Long, dark, like hers was once.
She puts tonight’s steak in the fridge, defrosts a wilting fish-pie. Says nothing.
He says nothing. Eats one-handed, holding each forkful in limbo on the way to his mouth.
At the weekend, he gives her the necklace anyway, fish-pie notwithstanding.
A gift of love or guilt? She wears it anyway. And cooks steak. With onion rings and fried tomatoes, just the way he likes it.
Afterwards they watch mindless Saturday Night TV, sitting together on the sofa. Saying nothing.
Perhaps they sit a little closer than usual.
THIRD PLACE
Jay Mckenzie
The Emperor's Cut
We’d go to Angie’s dad’s shop after school. It smelled of pennies gripped too long in sweaty little hands.
Bob, his name was, Angie’s dad. He had a big red face and ice-slab hands and an apron splattered with the stringy innards of sheep and pigs. Rusty islands of dried blood lingered in the fibres of the smock.
After, when they showed me the photos, I couldn’t focus on the tiny limbs and slick hair held aloft like a soggy Simba: my eyes snagged on my own entrails spilling out of my split carcass.
I thought, might call her Angie.