Congratulations to the writers whose memoirs were short or long-listed and to the 10 winners.
Judge, Tania Hershman.
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.
(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 |
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 |
(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 |