TSS Flash Fiction 400 Competition, spring 2019
We are pleased to announce the TSS Flash 400 winners for the spring competition.
This is the final Flash 400 competition TSS will be running. Going forward, we are open to general submission with Elisabeth Ingram Wallace taking the helm as Senior Editor. We will still be running one Flash Fiction competition a year which will be integrated into the Cambridge Prize. Details to follow later in the year.
Our thanks to all writers who have entered the competitions over the last few years. We’re delighted to feature such outstanding work on the website.
TSS Flash Fiction 400 winners (spring 2019)
Highly Commended
TSS Flash Fiction 400 Shortlist (spring 2019)
A Small Mistake – Matt Cowan
Afternoons and Coffee Spoons – Annette Hill
Bobby Beer Bottle – Karen Jones
Cherry Bomb – Cate McGowan
Cistern – Niamh MacCabe
Eleventh Night – Louise Farr
Evidence of Another Life – Sandy East-Bland
Girl & Pangolin – Gaynor Jones
I’d Advise Any Woman to Steer Clear of a Man Like That – Cath Barton
Just a Drop in the Ocean – Ashley Owen
Nature Walk – Karen Jones
Phyllis Wears Blue – Jane Devoy
Skyscraper Woman – Emma Hutton
Some Meaning – Leonora Desar
Terminal – Helen McClory
The Gentle Art of Sock Balling – Dettra Rose
The Kraken – Shannon Savvas
Uki Survives on Scraps from the Fish Market – Anika Carpenter
Diamondback Rattlesnake can Survive Six Months Without Food – Laura Danks
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TSS Flash Fiction 400 Longlist (spring 2019)
Due to a small technical glitch during an update, we lost the details for three of the stories below. If you are the author, please do contact rupert@theshortstory.co.uk and we’ll add your name to the list asap.
A Small Mistake – Matt Cowan
Afternoons and Coffee Spoons – Annette Hill
Bobby Beer Bottle – Karen Jones
Cherry Bomb – Cate McGowan
Cistern – Niamh MacCabe
Eleventh Night – Louise Farr
Evidence of Another Life – Sandy East-Bland
Except by my Sister – Shannon Savvas
French Exchange – Cathy Lennon
Girl & Pangolin – Gaynor Jones
How to Enter Another Galaxy – Jeanette Shepphard
I Married a Taxidermist – Jude Higgins
I’d Advise Any Woman to Steer Clear of a Man Like That – Cath Barton
Just a Drop in the Ocean – Ashley Owen
Just a Normal Day – Please contact TSS
Matt’s Basement – Leonora Desar
Mind the Gap – Jennifer Rowe
Nature Walk – Karen Jones
No Ghost – Rick White
No Isabellas or Olivers, No Rental College Epiphanies – Barclay Rafferty
Paradise – Gillian English
Phyllis Wears Blue – Jane Devoy
Ring Pull – Hannah Persaud
Skyscraper Woman – Emma Hutton
Slow Down for Armadillos – Rachael Dunlop
Some Meaning – Leonora Desar
Space Oddity – Freya Norley
Swimming Solo – LA Wilsom
Swing – Anne Howkins
Terminal – Helen McClory
The Age of the Dinosaurs – Leonora Desar
The Gentle Art of Sock Balling – Dettra Rosa
The Kraken – Shannon Savvas
The Man on the Ledge – Reshma Ruia
The Parasites – Susannah Wise
This is How it Works – Paul McDonald
Tiger – Amanda Huggins
Uki Survives on Scraps from the Fish Market – Anika Carpenter
Diamondback Rattlesnake can survive six months without food – Laura Danks
TSS Flash 400 Winners (winter 2018)
1st Place
The Grieving Gallery Attendant is Going to Quit, by Anika Carpenter
2nd Place
Catechism by Adam Lock
3rd Place
In My Dream I See My Son by Jason Jackson
Highly Commended
A Touch of Blood – Stephan Meijerhof
No Plans – Paul Jenkins
Face Full of Quills – Jasmine Templet
Comments from Guest Judge, Emily Devane:
First, I’d like to thank Rupert for inviting me to judge this brilliant competition. It has been a huge honour reading the stories – and so many of them will stay with me long after reading. We had a few tough choices to make, and had to part with some stories we loved, several of which were a tantalising tweak away from being winners. For the pieces that didn’t quite make it, I sincerely hope to see them out there in other competitions and lit mags.
The stories we chose are the ones that stayed with us, where each re-read rewarded us with new layers. The writer of third-placed ‘In my dream, I see my son’ impressed us with their technical skill – the use of time in particular, and those details that make a life – culminating in a gorgeous last line. In second place, ‘Catechism’ worked on different levels. It’s a witty piece and we loved the unusual question and answer structure, the way it builds momentum and finishes on the perfect note. Finally, first-placed ‘The Grieving Gallery Attendant is Going to Quit’ shows a remarkable moment between two people, where the actions of one has a profound impact on the other. We loved the quirky tone, the arresting imagery and that satisfying conclusion, provided in part by the – quite brilliant – title.
Previous winners of the TSS Flash 400 competitions
Boy in a Bearskin, Joanna Campbell
Sweet William by Alicia Bakewell
Learning to Speak Dolphin by Angela Readman
Second Skin – Jo Gatford
When last We Spoke – Douglas Jensen
‘Cubism’ by Adam Lock
‘Maria Belfiore’s Shoes’ by Emily Devane
‘What She Carried’ by Kevin Kissane