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Flash Fiction Prize 2020: Results, Short & Long-lists

Winners

Short-list

Long-list

Congratulations to the writers whose memoirs were short or long-listed and to the 10 winners.


 

Winners

Tania Hershman

Judge, Tania Hershman.

Here are the 10 winning Flash Fiction Stories, as chosen by judge Tania Hershman, to be published in the Fish Anthology 2020

The Fish Anthology 2020 was to be launched as part of the West Cork Literary Festival  (July 2020).  Unfortunately this festival has been cancelled for 2020.

Top 10 stories will be published in the FISH ANTHOLOGY 2020.
1st prize: €1,000
2nd: €300
3rd: Online Writing Course with Fish

Comments on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd flash stories are from Tania Hershman, who we sincerely thank for her time, expertise and enthusiasm in judging the prize. 

FIRST PLACE

Morning Routine by Kim Catanzarite (New jersey, USA)

In my first notes on this story I wrote: “Nothing happens, but also everything happens.” This is a flash beautifully told in two breathless sentences, where everything simmers under the surface, but the relationship between these two is perfectly captured. A fantastic example of how a great story doesn’t need to revolve around A Huge Event – an earthquake, say, divorce, a car chase – showing us how the tiniest of moments can have the largest of ripples.

SECOND PLACE

Blink by Mary McClarey (Ireland)

Blink is a very nicely paced and taut crime thriller, which tells you just enough but not too much, using its length perfectly, and not shying away from violence. It was just as good on second read, even when you know what’s happened, which is not easily done!

THIRD PLACE

Bog People by Anne Cullen (Richmond, California)

A beautiful, deceptively quiet piece that opens up whole worlds across time, really thought-provoking and making perfect use of the small space.

SEVEN HONORABLE MENTIONS (In no particular order)

Domesticity by Claire Powell (London)

Recipe for Disaster by Jan Kaneen (UK)

Reclining Nude by Stella Klein (London)

The Abnormal Normal Belfast 1970 by Jennifer O’Reilly (Strangford, N Ireland)

The Other Flight of Icarus by James Wise (UK)

When you look down the throat of a doll there’s nothing inside by Rosie Garland (Manchester, UK)

Throwing Cockerels by Alan Passey (Cirencester, UK)

There was a wonderful range of flash stories in the pile I was sent, and amongst the finalists I’ve chosen stories which move from Icarus taking a different kind of flight to an artist’s model, Belfast in the early 1970s, a story in the shape of a recipe, a story of story beginnings, each of which takes into a slightly different parallel universe, a very menacing tale involving dolls, and a beautiful quiet piece in a museum. Two were told in the second person, which is always a point of view I am drawn to – but all of them delighted me in different ways. Congratulations, everyone, picking winners was a difficult task, and an honour! – Tania Hershman

MORE ABOUT THE WINNERS:

Kim Catanzarite has been writing for nearly thirty years. When she’s not writing, she’s editing, and when she’s not writing or editing, she’s reading. Occasionally she watches movies as well. You can find her getting her steps every ten minutes to the hour. Kim lives in New Jersey with her husband and daughter.

Mary’s mixed heritage between West Cork and Northern Ireland, gives her an insight into the two sides of any story. Having sidestepped the religious vocation her mother aimed in her direction, she ran away to join the NHS. After a successful career as a nurse she used this insight to develop and inform another side of her life and turned to creative writing. She has two novels and a children’s book under her belt.

Claire Powell grew up in south-east London, where she still lives now. She has an MA in Creative Writing from UEA, where she received the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Bursary and the Malcolm Bradbury Continuation Prize. Her fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in The Manchester Review and Harper’s Bazaar, amongst others. Her 300-word story Valentine was commended in the February 2020 Bath Flash Fiction Award. She works in advertising.

Jan Kaneen started writing in 2015 as a sort of mindfulness therapy and now has an MA in Creative Writing from the Open University. Her flashes have won competitions at Flash 500, Molotov Cocktail and Retreat West, and she’s currently shortlisted for the Dinesh Allirajah Prize (Comma Press) and nominated for Best on the Net. Her debut memoir-in-flash, The Naming of Bones is forthcoming from Retreat West Books in April 2021. She blogs at https://jankaneen.com/ and tweets @jankaneen1

Stella Klein is useless with a paintbrush but loves to translate images into words. She is the proud mother of a skate-boarder and an anthropologist and lives in the house they grew up in with her very patient husband, Nick. When she is not messing about with unfinished stories on her laptop, Stella is a freelance writing coach and academic support tutor at several university colleges across London.

Jennifer was brought up in a little village on the shores of Strangford Lough. It was an idyllic childhood in sharp contrast to her college days where her teacher training took her to the Falls Road, Belfast during some of the most violent years of the Troubles. After teaching English for a number of years she moved back to Belfast to work in a newspaper as an Education Officer writing curriculum material for schools.

Anne Cullen holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University, Oregon. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is currently working on a collection of linked short stories.

James Wise has been writing most of his life, with poems featured in local Oxford anthologies Hidden Treasures and Island City, alongside Helen Kidd, Paul Muldoon and Tom Paulin. Following an MA in creative writing from Birkbeck, James’ short fiction has been published in MIROnline, Issue 14 of The Mechanics’ Institute Review, The Cabinet of Heed and The Curlew. James tweets as @FreeQuayBuoy

Rosie Garland, novelist, poet and singer with post-punk band The March Violets, has a passion for language nurtured by public libraries. Her work’s appeared in Under the Radar, The North, Rialto, Mslexia & elsewhere. Author of three novels, The Palace of Curiosities, Vixen and The Night Brother. The Times has described her writing as “a delight…with shades of Angela Carter.” In 2019, Val McDermid named her one of the UK’s most compelling LGBTQ writers.   http://www.rosiegarland.com/

Alan Passey. Way back in school, Al wrote a poem in his Chemistry exam. He got an F for Fail. Undaunted he has been writing ever since, has shoeboxes full of the stuff (like everyone else) and had a brief dalliance with poetry publication in the ‘90s. His recent work has appeared in “Domestic Cherry” and been commended by The A3 Press. He recently published a travel book on Spain and lives near Cirencester in the UK.

 


Short-list:

(alphabetical order)

There are 50 flash stories in the short-list. The total entry was 1,238.

Title

First Name

Last Name

Addiction

T C

Anderson

Thruway

Nick

Arnemann

Young Gentleman

Rosalind

Bouverie

Big Black Lines of Rain

Lorcan

Byrne

Morning Routine

Kim

Catanzarite

My Mr Shakespeare

Pauline

Clooney

Go, Leave, Run

Monica

Corish

The Ocean Floor

Lucia

Dabdoub

The Stones of Birsay

Ruth

Foy

Rosalie

Christopher

Galindo

When you look down the throat of a doll there’s nothing inside

Rosie

Garland

Ageless

Aber Ozram

Grand

OCTOBER 20, 2019 – 7:10 A.M.

Geoffrey

Graves

What Does Teen Spirit Smell Like?

Jennifer

Gray

A Clean Shave

Neil

Hancox

Some Nerve!

Lawrence

Hansen

An Accidental Saviour

Roger

Jones

Reclining Nude

Stella

Klein

In the Here and the Now

Jayme

Koszyn

Davy the Cosmic Warrior

Mark

Laurie

The Left Was So Much Bigger
Than the Right

Tracy

Lee-Newman

Before The Avalanche

Robin

Littell

Hero

Tracy

Lloyd

Other Uses for a Woman’s Body

Rosaleen

Lynch

Au Revoir Recall

Niamh

MacCabe

Home Truths

Kate

Manning

Blink

Mary

McClarey

In Ten Minutes Time.

Lesley

McDowall

Near the Surface

Joshua

Moody

Checkov’s Handgun

Dean

Mountain

Smooch

Anthony

O’Donovan

Going Home

Grainne

O’Driscoll

Throwing Cockerels

Alan

Passey

The Colour of Optimism

GC

Perry

Domesticity

Claire

Powell

The House Hunter

Kelsey

Power

Return

Zara

Raab

La Luna

Ruth

Rawcliffe

Diamonds in the Rough

Russell

Reader

In Bed With Melon Bread

Leonie

Rowland

The Town Named After You

Leonie

Rowland

Some Kind of Protest

Paul

Rowlinson

The Floods

Adrian

Scanlan

Penance

Kim

Schroeder

First Impressions

Jack

Skelly

The Man

Kathryn

Smith

Mary’s Second Child

Barbara

Stowe

All the Times He Died

Phyllis

Waldman

Toast

Rebecca

West

The Other Flight of Icarus

James

Wise

Awakening of Consciousness: Shamrock Prophecy

Amber

Young

 


Long-list:

(alphabetical order)

There are 138 flash stories in the long-list. The total entry was 1,238.

Title

First Name

Last Name

Addiction

T C

Anderson

Thruway

Nick

Arnemann

My Sister Versus Tomatoes

Kate

Barss

Murray, While Mall Walking, Takes a Wrong Turn

Paul

Beckman

Post Modern

Tony

Black

Los Muertos

Paul

Blaney

Who Would You Be

Eleanor

Bluestein

Young Gentleman

Rosalind

Bouverie

Loose Lips

Judith

Bridge

The Flowers of Home

Veronica

Bright

Chasing Chickens

Mark

Brom

Please, Max

Janet

Brons

The Doll

D.R.D.

Bruton

Home

Paul

Butterworth

Big Black Lines of rain

Lorcan

Byrne

Gravity folded itself like a hinge

Kate

Campbell

Morning Routine

Kim

Catanzarite

My Mr Shakespeare

Pauline

Clooney

Invisible Force

Xavier

Combe

My first ‘Flash Fiction’ story.

Joe

Connolly

Go, Leave, Run

Monica

Corish

One Last Chance

Michael

Cormier

K

Anamaria

Crowe Serrano

Moving On

Laurence

Crumbie

Bog People

Anne

Cullen

The Ocean Floor

Lucia

Dabdoub

Christmas ’41

William

Darbishire

Cherubs

Katrina

Despi

Hide

Anthony

Dew

Back on the River

Rick

Donahoe

Marked ‘Good’

Jessica

Douthwaite

November 2017

Alison

Dunhill

Only Opera

Alison

Dunhill

The Lump

Alan

Egan

Your Trousers

Jane

Elmor

See me

Daniel

Fiddler

The Stones of Birsay

Ruth

Foy

Rosalie

Christopher

Galindo

Flash

Bláíthín

Gallagher

Owl Time

Frances

Gapper

The Rat’s Prophecy

Frances

Gapper

Not a Pet

Frances

Gapper

When you look down the throat of a doll there’s nothing inside

Rosie

Garland

Gatsby Party

Amina

Gautier

Penelope

Amina

Gautier

From the Hilltop

Bear

Gebhardt

Something Fishy

Diana

Gittins

The Older Woman

Steven

Gleason

Ageless

Aber Ozram

Grand

OCTOBER 20, 2019 – 7:10 A.M.

Geoffrey

Graves

I Watch and Wait

Jennifer

Gray

Zigzag

Jennifer

Gray

What Does Teen Spirit Smell Like?

Jennifer

Gray

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Harry

Groome

The Donor

Julian

Hale

A Clean Shave

Neil

Hancox

Some Nerve!

Lawrence

Hansen

The Match

George

Harrar

Remembering the Unremembered

Janet

Heeran

Damn You, Gibran

Sara

Hills

Something like Gravel

Marissa

Hoffmann

I’m not a House I’m a Home

Tricia

Holbrook

First, a memory

David

Horn

Such Luck!

Hedy

Howe

Happy Birthday

Hedy

Howe

The Invisible Writer

HM

Hulme

The Tin of Salmon

Chris

Hyland

The night before

Elena

Itzcovich

Lust for life

Nye

Jones

An Accidental Saviour

Roger

Jones

Recipe for Disaster

Jan

Kaneen

They Kicked Up Heels for a Little, Not For Long

Gemma

Kaneko

The Letterbox

Shona

Keeshan

Reasons for Admission

Jay

Kelly

Ants on the moon

Sarah

Kilfeather

Boxes

Nicky

Kippax

Reclining Nude

Stella

Klein

In the Here and the Now

Jayme

Koszyn

Holy Cow

Neil

Kroetsch

Davy the Cosmic Warrior

Mark

Laurie

Faustus Hood

Roland

Leach

Self Storage

Tracy

Lee-Newman

The Left Was So Much Bigger Than the Right

Tracy

Lee-Newman

Extra Leg Room

Finbar

Lillis

Before The Avalanche

Robin

Littell

Hero

Tracy

Lloyd

Watch Your Speed

Stephen

Lunn

Set Out Running

Stephen

Lunn

Other Uses for a Woman’s Body

Rosaleen

Lynch

Au Revoir Recall

Niamh

MacCabe

Carsick Facing Backward (Bradenton Greetings)

Laura

Mahal

Lots of Room

Michael

Mahoney

Whatever it was he did

Ursula

Mallows

Home Truths

Kate

Manning

Blink

Mary

McClarey

Why I’mma Superhero

Deborah

McCutchen

In Ten Minutes Time.

Lesley

McDowall

Tattoo

Michael

Mcloughlin

White

Michael

Mcloughlin

Laughter at the Lakes

Michael

Mcloughlin

Elysium

Geoffrey

Mead

Space

Jess

Mitchell

Kind of Blue

Conor

Montague

Near the Surface

Joshua

Moody

When There Was Plum Blossum

Pene

Morley

The Arrangement of Things

B

Morton

Checkov’s Handgun

Dean

Mountain

Two lives lost in single-vehicle accident in Carroll County (With apologies to Bob Ferguson).

J

Mulligan

Adagio Cantabile Dolce

Eamon

Murphy

Everyone Is Offended These Days

Thivakaran

Narayanan

Bigger

Nathan

Newman

The Teddies are all in the Boot

E.L

Norry

Smooch

Anthony

O’Donovan

Going Home

Grainne

O’Driscoll

I Fell in Love at Seven,

Maggie

O’Dwyer

The Cracks and Gaps

Ciara

O’Loughlin

The Abnormal Normal Belfast 1970

Jennifer

O’Reilly

Dunkirk Beach June 1982

Patricia

O’Shea

Throwing Cockerels

Alan

Passey

Heresy

Heather

Pearson

The Colour of Optimism

GC

Perry

Imprints on my Shoulders

Aisha

Phoenix

Domesticity

Claire

Powell

The House Hunter

Kelsey

Power

Return

Zara

Raab

La Luna

Ruth

Rawcliffe

Diamonds in the Rough

Russell

Reader

The Subway

Lisa

Rehfuss

The Locket

Sharen

Robertson

The Paper Menagerie

Máire T

Robinson

Purgatory

Vanessa

Rogers

In Bed With Melon Bread

Leonie

Rowland

In Bed With Melon Bread

Leonie

Rowland

The Town Named After You

Leonie

Rowland

Some Kind of Protest

Paul

Rowlinson

The Floods

Adrian

Scanlan

Penance

Kim

Schroeder

A Haunting

Heather Lee

Shaw

Reverse Move

Gordon

Simms

First Impressions

Jack

Skelly

The Man

Kathryn

Smith

The Giorria

Mark

Stewart

Mary’s Second Child

Barbara

Stowe

Bronco

Randolph

Thomas

Opening of Nobel Lit Acceptance Speech

Michael

Tinney

No Lemonade in Seattle

Tabatha

Tovar

Just One

Sherri

Turner

All the Times He Died

Phyllis

Waldman

Augmented Reality

Linda

Walsh

Toast

Rebecca

West

Woke

Clare

Weze

Sweet Sorrow

Patricia

Wilson

The Other Flight of Icarus

James

Wise

Borderline

Kanney

Wong

Rendezvous

Decima

Wraxall

Awakening of Consciousness: Shamrock Prophecy

Amber

Young

Dissapear

Alice

Zhou

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