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Earlier in the year, young writers' were challenged by the Crime Writers Association (CWA) to create a brilliant story in 1,000 words or less.
Entries flooded in. There were stories about missing paintings, stolen jewels, even a stolen horse - for a moment I wondered if we'd discovered the next Dick Francis. One story was set in South Africa in 1916, another in an ice-cold industrial garage.
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As CWA Area Representative for the West Country for the competition, I thoroughly enjoyed judging the entries. I judged each story on plot-making, location, character, dialogue and tone of voice, and took note of those who expressed a strong personal style.
The short story is a fantastic medium and can be sad or serious, brazen or subtle, and can be as short as we care to make it. Some entries took the whole 1,000 words, others were under 500, but they were no less powerful and made every word count.
Last year, vampires dominated the stories thanks to Stephanie Meyer's massively successful Twilight series, but this year there wasn't a single vampire or werewolf. Instead, there were more stories exploring what I term social comment, with themes of unhappy marriages, drug addiction and domestic abuse, with each raising the intriguing question whether murder can ever be excusable.
Regional Winner of the 2011 Young Crime Writer of the Year Award
Emily Lumbard for Witness
This story was fast-paced, intense and cleverly plotted. Right from the first sentence I felt I was with the character in her soggy Ugg-boots peering around the street corner, her heart pounding as she watches a man stealing a wallet from what appears to be a dead man. I could smell the rotting rubbish and feel her fear. The writing was atmospheric and enthralling and I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and was deliciously shocked and delighted at the twist at the end. Congratulations, Emily!
Runner Up
Samuel Clark for Stoned
In this story we have a harried policeman who loves his family but is struggling to provide for them, tipping him into the murky world of corruption. The character was deeply empathetic and his internal struggle made him human and believable. It was a tragic story, heartbreaking and real. The writing was crisp and concise, the plot well thought out. Well done, Sam.
Highly Commended
Charlie Barrett for Catch Me if You Can
This was one of the shortest stories at just 420 words, but it packed a real punch. This was a pursuit story, told from the criminal's point of view. The character's voice was cocky but likeable, the action fast-paced, and the ending a nail-biting cliff-hanger. It was the final line that made it for me though; I laughed out loud. What a great sense of humour! Well done, Charlie.
Shortlisted, in no particular order:
Livvy May Parsons for Stolen Joey
Rachel Pattiata for The Short Life of Roman de Angelo
Bethany Wong for Sakina's Safari
Charlotte Hill for Once I Caught A Fish Alive
Juleesa Edwards for The Stolen Life
Jason Taylor for The Pebble
Nicholas Walters for Those Eyes
Tabitha Bunyan for The Red Thread
Nicki Biggs for Not What It Used To Be
Poppy White for Poison
The national winner was sixteen year old Claudia Hyde from London, for A Cushion Out of Place, a brilliantly creepy and disturbing story about sibling rivalry. Congratulations Claudia.
*CWA members are all professionally published writers of crime fiction and non-fiction and the world famous crossed dagger logo is our emblem.
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