Claire Kilroy has chosen the following stories to be published in the 2014 Fish Anthology.

I was drawn to stories that were inventive in terms of language, imagery and plot, stories that possessed sparks of brilliance.  The ones that made the anthology were not necessarily the most polished, or the strongest in terms of narrative technique – indeed, some of them are still a little raw and lack a satisfactory structure.  Instead, I picked the stories that arrested my imagination by showcasing an arresting imagination themselves.  I was struck by how funny many of them are, several of them joyously so – they are madcap and eccentric and great fun.  Others – despite restrained and elegant prose – managed to be devastating.  All of them are the work of writers with talent. 

Claire Kilroy

FIRST
Taylor Keith  by David Butler
SECOND
The Nod  by Barry Troy
THIRD
Horse Latitudes  by Aongus Murtagh

HONORARY MENTIONS:
A Paper Husband   by Georgina Eddison
Gomorrah Shade   by Michael Crossan
The Crane   by Sarah Quigley
The Words   by Simon Cornish
Two’d up   by Ann Jolly
Venom   by Oana Aristide
Whenever I Close my Eyes   by James Heaney

83 stories shortlisted
(1,560 stories submitted in total)

389 stories longlisted
(1,560 stories submitted in total)

117 poems shortlisted
(1,752 submitted in total)

560 poems longlisted
(1,500 submitted in total)

10 winners as chosen by Peter Benson, will be published in the Fish Anthology 2013
(1,407 submitted in total)

79 flash stories shortlisted
(1,407 submitted in total)

317 flash stories longlisted
(1,407 submitted in total)

Judge, Molly McCloskey, has chosen the following memoirs to be published in the 2013 Fish Anthology.

Winner – Luscus by Maureen Boyle

This is a memoir in which the author strikes a wonderful balance between absolute control of her material and the achievement of a lightness and fluidity, as though the writing of it were happening easily and naturally; in fact it’s a highly crafted piece of writing. The author tells of losing an eye in a childhood accident; of the man who made her the succession of eyes that, as she grew, replaced her own; and of the world of doctors’ offices, with their wooden trays of eyes. The prose is restrained and unshowy and yet moves with a quiet power; with a wonderful concreteness, it roots us in the experience. The ending, about so much more than the narrator, the doctor, or the story at hand, moved me to tears.

2 – Collapse by Saffron Marchant

This memoir tracks the psychological unspooling of a senior in a law firm dealing with high finance. Style and content are perfectly matched – the writing is pacy and sharp, and judders along, like the world depicted. There are great images that come out of nowhere and aren’t made a fuss of. As an account of that moment when a life turns, it’s compelling and extremely well written.

3 – World Without End by Angela Finn

This is a brave and very carefully crafted account of a topic little talked about – the emotional aftermath of a pregnancy termination. There is great sadness, and a terrible ache, suffusing this piece, but it is contained and shaped in carefully crafted prose. The author has been disciplined in what she has chosen to include and what she has omitted, and it is this process of selection, wisely carried out, that can give a piece of memoir such power. This is not the sort of piece that is easy to write without lapsing into judgement or sentimentality, but the author has done it, producing a searing piece of writing.

Honorary Mentions

Ashes by Elisabeth Winkler

Then and Now by Pip Newling

What it is Like in Words by e.g. Jönsson

The Visit by Susan DuMond

Dorchester Park, Drumming Our Way to the Future by Orla McAlinden

The Gift by Bo Niles

Spaghetti a Cacio e Pepe by Barry Troy