FFF Competition Fifteen – Judge’s Report by Charles Prelle
17th May 2023
Firstly, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Ian Rushton for allowing me to judge this competition for a second time. That Free Flash Fiction is such a supportive and well run competition is all thanks to his hard work. I’d also like to say congratulations to all fifteen writers on the longlist. Having been fortunate enough to judge FFF Competition 9 I knew the quality of the work would be high, and the stories on the longlist didn’t disappoint! Getting it down to the final five was a difficult task. There was a story or two that just missed out and even the ones in the final five jostled for position. Saying that, my winner was my winner from the very first read. Being a judge or a reader for any writing competition or lit mag is always subjective, and another person may have had a completely different view.
And so, to those final five!
The first shortlisted story, Float Sail Move On is a beautiful take on the loss of a parent. There’s such power behind every sentence, each word telling of the space that loss leaves in the life of the narrator. The story comes to life through well-structured sensory details such as “a ticking clock in a midnight kitchen” and remembrances of “your brother’s freckles, tupperware sandwiches, tanlines and the bristly length of a beard”. It is a work of warmth and emotion, of loss and love, of learning to live with grief and ultimately to begin to move on.
The next shortlisted piece Storm Madeline 2016 was a wonderful illustration of those first few days and moments of parenthood. The comparison of a newborn baby to a cumulonimbus cloud, with all of its rumblings and rainfall were beautifully described. The questions and insecurities, the feeling that everyone else is finding it easier than you as they cradle their “moon rays and rainbows” all are so genuine and heartfelt that one can’t help but connect with it. This is such a clever story, and the running metaphor gives the piece a lightness as delicate as the clouds it portrays.
At just 144 words, the highly commended Breaking Eggs is shorter than the other pieces on the list, but it packs so much life and character into those few words. From the very first lines I felt this was a special piece. In my mind I saw the woman standing before me with her “thinning, white wisps” looking to capture the energy and vitality of her youth, to “revisit being visible”. I could feel the silence in her life as she reflects on her children now grown up and having left home. This is an example of the art of micro-fiction at it’s very finest.
The highly commended story, Silly Girl teases us with its structure, using each paragraph as a building block to form a picture of the narrator’s life from childhood to motherhood, demonstrating the different aspects and contradictions of who she sees herself to be at each stage of her journey. Each detail is beautifully rendered and tell a story all themselves, from her “kicking at puddles with leaky trainers” as a child, to being in a relationship with “share-size crisps and unwashed hair”, the language is just pitch perfect. As a father I couldn’t help relating to the final paragraph describing life as a parent, which all comes full circle in a final line that is so wonderfully subtle yet packs a huge a punch.
That takes me to our final piece and the one I’ve chosen as the winner. Here Come the Gulls drew me in at the very first read and left me thinking about it long after. The pure attitude of the piece grabs you by the scruff of the neck at that very first line brilliant line and doesn’t let go. The author portrays the unselfconscious swagger of youth with such rhythm that you want to tap your feet to it. I loved the language of the piece, each line is like a small act of teenage rebellion, a “puffed up chest” daring you to “go on then”. I loved how each detail about this group of girls tells its own story, from their “bitten down nails” to their “bubblegum spit”, all nervous energy and arrogance. This is a fantastic piece that gets better with each read, leaving the reader eager for the gulls to come again.
Charles Prelle