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2020 Open Competition Results 

Our short story open competition for 2020 drew to a close on 1st March and we would like to thank all those who let their creativity shine.

 

The standard of entries this year was particularly high and it was wonderful to hear such a varied and colourful range of stories. As usual, entries were shortlisted by the Bridgend Writers' Circle committee before handing over to our final judge who had this to say in summary:

It has been a pleasure to adjudicate this competition, especially during lockdown and not having the pressure of other activities. I enjoyed reading the fourteen entries that were short-listed by the experienced writers of Bridgend Writers’ Circle. There was a range of stories – poignant, humorous, haunting, all with well thought out plots and characters one could empathise with.

 

Having read through each one, I put them away for a couple of weeks to come back afresh and repeat the process until finally making a decision. It was not an easy one to make but these are the stories which lingered in my mind long after the initial reading. All of them had merit, though there were a couple that were let down by poor punctuation. Another adjudicator might well have made a different choice, but these are the three stories I felt deserved the honour of an award.

 

Carole Ann Smith - Judge

And the winners are...

1st Place

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Weatherby’s Return

by Charles Warren ( Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex)

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A man is haunted by his past – ‘Now  it shone like burnished brass in the evening sunlight but deep beneath that lustre, in the airless cold, lay the remains of a village.’

2nd Place

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On Guard for Love and War

by Valerie Hoare (Emsworth, Hampshire)

A moving story of the aftermath of the Great War

3rd Place

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Jacob

by  Anne Crittenden (Maidenhead, Berkshire)

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A young woman driven by her grief

Carole Ann also wanted to give commendation to these other entries from amongst the submissions:

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The World’s A Stage

Hangman’s House

A Week Ago Last Tuesday

Clean Sheets

The Lollipop Bandit

Other short-listed entries:

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Experts in Failed Love

Waiting

Local Hero

A Warm Balmy Sunday Afternoon

The Home Bird

All I Want

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone for taking part. The competition for 2021 is now open for submissions (with some minor differences this year due to this pesky virus) so please see our competition page for full details.

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