Judge Fiona Cooper has selected her winners for the October Global Short Story Competition.
The £100 first place prize goes to James McPherson, of Glasgow, Scotland, for Eternal Shadows, of which Fiona says: “This story really touched me on many levels. It begs the huge question - what is love?
“Exploring the ambivalent range of feelings people have when a loved one is ill, the writer doesn’t spare the reader or soften the reality. The narrator of the story flays himself alive and this writer truly goes into the deepest layers of hopelessness and, ultimately, finds one of the realities of true love.”
Our highly commended runner up is Mandy Huggins, who wins £25 for Ten Dollar Ironing Board, of which Fiona says: “This story is raw and uncompromising, dealing with Maria's brave one woman mission not merely to survive, but to use whatever means she can find to escape the grinding poverty of her life. Her single minded strength shines and the brief mention of real love gives a real light in a very dark place. I thought of Tina Turner's amazing ‘Private Dancer, and there were also echoes of John Steinbeck at his gritty best.”
The writers on the shortlist are:
Dmitriy Kutepov, Moscow, Russia
Kate Howard, Brighton, England
Ernest Hall, Kingston-upon-Thames, England
Loei Martinez, Spring, Texas, United States
Colin Hodson, Margon, France
Vincent Chu, Cologne, Germany
Winning stories will be posted on www.inscribemedia.co.uk Well done to our successful writers. You can enter the latest monthly competition at the same address.
John Dean
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