Competition 14 Judges Report by Maria Thomas

 

Firstly, it was a huge honour to be asked to judge Free Flash Fiction’s Competition 14. Having entered the competition a few times, seeing it from the other side has been a fascinating and enjoyable experience. I loved opening my package of longlisted stories and diving right into the lives people have built using their 300 word limit.

 

All fifteen stories had something to recommend them, and my preferences moved around quite a bit, benefitting from multiple readings – both in my head and aloud. Moving stories in and out of the top five felt quite momentous, as I know from experience the joy and hope of being on a longlist, and the disappointment of not making it any further. I thought about this hard, knowing my own preferences. It’s worth saying that my winning story was my winning story from first reading – it immediately appealed to me and didn’t move from the top spot however many times I read it.

 

Getting into the detail my first shortlisted story Pursuit was one that benefitted from multiple readings. I loved the clever title – who is hunter and who is hunted - and it has such a different tone from anything else I read that it stayed with me from the first reading. There's a sense of the Victorian – the language, interests in collecting and the natural world. That in itself was fascinating, but what elevated it was that from the moment we meet the young woman we sense Pearson is about to receive his just desserts. I really enjoyed the allusions to butterfly collectors (reminiscent of John Fowles), the way the woman explains what she is seeking - 'Things that creep and crawl' - and the bees appearing above them - 'They mate with her, then die'. It's so cleverly done. The bees also reminded me of Simonopio in the wonderful Murmur of Bees - a book to get hold of if you haven't read it.

 

My other shortlisted story is Love Hoarder and the idea behind it - a woman trying to stop her children growing and neglecting her husband in the effort - is a tale as old as time. I love the original way this has been written - the woman trying to save the pieces her children discard, and I love the idea of her storing them in Tupperware. The disintegration of her husband is also beautifully wrought - 'the dune shudders at her unfamiliar touch' is such a poignant line. It’s so sad but so universal.

 

Highly commended is He Will Understand Eventually. The language drew me to this – it’s stunning with some magical word choices - fissure (which also features in my first-choice story), aphotic, festooned. I loved the personification of the ceiling fan in the opening paragraph, and I enjoyed the way the reader was moved through the narrator’s regret, with hints at something not so straightforward propelling us along. I was also really touched by the nods to confession - the use of the word supplicant, and the image of her kneeling for forgiveness at the end. Then the stark matter-of-factness of that ending. One that got better on each re-read.

 

Also Highly Commended is Always the Thief. I loved the way this turned from the homespun nostalgia of Anna's mother making fruit pie and the children's rhyme, to something altogether darker. It reminds me almost of an Angela Carter type fairy story. The section in the middle where the narrator describes the things the thief has taken from her is heart-breaking, and the wry asides that propel the story along are wonderful. I absolutely adored the ending - the way the thief becomes the child she'll never have, the circle back to the baking at the beginning and then that killer last line. Wonderful.

 

Finally, my winner - The Transfer of Energy Between Two Bodies in Motion. The title drew me in here and then the imagery just blew me away. I loved the idea of the crumpled bonnet as a wave that pulls the occupants of the car under, and that link with the flashback to a childhood by the sea. The paragraph that ends with 'drown' is so beautifully breathless that you can feel that pressure to breathe as you read it aloud. Gorgeously done! I loved the ending - the way it's a conclusion but not quite, and the way the italicised bits pull you through the narrative arc as this crash is happening. This was my favourite from the get-go and it got better with each reading.

 

I’d like to thank Ian Rushton for the effort he puts into running this competition, and how easy he made this process for me. Congratulations to everyone who made the long-list.

 

Maria Thomas

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