1000 word challenge

Winners

‘Set at a party’ – 15 March 2018

We had a bumper crop of entries to our ‘set at a party’ competition. It’s always exciting when your stories arrive in our inbox, but it does give the judges a very difficult job! Thanks to everyone who entered.

Your stories covered a range of celebrations, from New Year’s Eve bashes to children’s birthdays, from dinner parties to work dos. We met a surprising number of characters who just weren’t in the mood to party, preferring to observe from the sidelines. But when your parties got going, they delivered heartbreak, hangovers and a few nasty surprises.

We particularly enjoyed Lisa Beebe’s enigmatic ‘Leila’, whose central character disappears in a flash of light. Valerie Griffin gave us one of the best closing moments of this competition in ‘We Have History’, when her protagonist is literally left out in the cold at his ex-girlfriend’s thirtieth birthday.

We’ve published four very different stories, which we hope you’ll enjoy.

‘One More Night’ by Nathaniel Williams hooked the judges from the first reading. Nathaniel uses a series of small moments to build a bigger picture. While very much set at a party, it’s the world outside that really intrigued us. If this feels like an enigmatic description, that’s because we don’t want to give too much away. Please read Nathaniel’s brilliant story for yourselves. He’s the worthy winner of our £100 first prize.

‘Hate is a Four-Letter Word’ by Adam Lock describes the awkward meeting of an ex-couple at a house party. We were impressed by the tight focus of Adam’s story and the emotion packed into this uncomfortable encounter. Adam wins our £50 second prize.

We have awarded two third prizes, of £25 each. We simply couldn’t choose between these two and wanted you to read them both.

‘The Woman in the Green Dress’ by Joanna Hunter is a story of infidelity at an office party. We had a lot of similarly-themed tales, with many of you recognising the dramatic potential of the annual office bash. What made Joanna’s story stand out from the crowd was the unusual point of view from which she tells the tale.

‘The Carousel’ by Oliver Stanley is a fresh take on the theme. We hope you’ll enjoy meeting the quick-witted and genteel parishioners of Woodley as much as we did. We couldn’t help but warm to Mrs F and Mrs M as they host a tea party for their newly-appointed priest.

Congratulations to all our winners.

Shortlist

‘Leila’ by Lisa Beebe
‘We Have History’ by Valerie Griffin
‘The Woman in the Green Dress’ by Joanna Hunter
‘Life and Soul’ by Gary Kittle
‘Outside In’ by Anne Knight
‘Hate is a Four-Letter Word’ by Adam Lock
‘The Party’ by L N Rigby
‘The Virtual Partygoer’ by Theresa Sainsbury
‘The Carousel’ by Oliver Stanley
‘One More Night’ by Nathaniel Williams

Longlist

‘Leila’ by Lisa Beebe
‘Levels’ by Jared Coren
‘The Dinner Party’ by Julia Graves
‘We Have History’ by Valerie Griffin
‘Party Perfect’ by Janis Hall
‘The Woman in the Green Dress’ by Joanna Hunter
‘Life and Soul’ by Gary Kittle
‘Outside In’ by Anne Knight
‘Hate is a Four-Letter Word’ by Adam Lock
‘Dumped’ by Oonagh McBride
‘The Liberating Soufflé’ by Linda McGeachy
‘The Party’ by L N Rigby
‘The Virtual Partygoer’ by Theresa Sainsbury
‘The Carousel’ by Oliver Stanley
‘Party Types’ by P J Stephenson
‘An Animal from Afar’ by Peter J Taylor
‘Odd Socks’ by Wendy Turner
‘One More Night’ by Nathaniel Williams
‘Samuel’s Big Day!’ by Emma Young