Congratulations to the 2009 winners of the Writers' Village Best Writing 2009 contest!
It's usual on these occasions for the judges to proclaim with delight and dismay 'the quantity and quality of entries exceeded our highest expectations'. In fact, it is embarrassingly true!
So many were the entries I received from all over the world, and so outstanding were several of them, that I felt happily compelled to add - ex gratia - a 2nd and 3rd winner to acknowledge those who, in my judgement, missed the top prize only by a whisker.
The 2nd and 3rd-placed winners gain a £30 and £20 prize, respectively, as an addition to the £250 prize structure previously announced.
All of the top three stories, plus many of the further ten shortlisted here, thoroughly deserve publication in print media and I urge the winners to submit their stories to editors with all speed.
Winners of the The Writers’ Village Best Writing 2009 Award
Outright winner (£150). Shuna Meade of Antigua, West Indies, for her story Song of the Christmas Butterflies. To read Shuna's story, click here.
2nd prize (£30). Valerie Bowes of Surrey, UK, for Name Reflected Darkly. To read Valerie's story, click here.
3rd prize (£20). Kathleen Newell of Cambridgeshire, UK, for Showtime!. To read Kathleen's story, click here.
The ten shortlisted winners (£10), in alphabetical order, are:
Barbara Berg of Mississippi, USA, Don’t Forget the Flea Shampoo. Click here
Gayle Beveridge of Victoria, Australia, Cry of the Plover. Click here
Ian Craine of London, UK, Orlando Juvenescens. Click here
Richard Gibney of Dublin, Ireland, Father Feeney’s March of the Blessed. Click here
R. F. Marazas of New Jersey, US, Remembering Teresa. Click here
Steve Myers of Brighton, UK, A Cure for Hiccups. Click here
Iain Pattison of Bristol, UK, Credit Crunchie. Click here
Spencer Ratcliffe of New South Wales, Australia, Never Mind. That’s My Name. Click here
Wendy Reakes of Bristol, UK, The Butcher, the Baker and the Ironmonger. Click here
Rebecca Zugor of Chichester, UK, Escapism. Click here
Congratulations again to everyone. I look forward warmly to your (and their) entries in the next round :)
To return to How to Enter the Contest, click here
