Boar Books Short Story Competition: the winners in full
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t the end of last term, Boar Books hosted a short story competition, looking for pieces in any genre of up to three thousand words in length. We received a large number of wonderful entries and, after long deliberation, are proud to present our winners.
First Place – “The Hamblins” by Allegra Scales
A reporter visits Smokey Hamblin, a Mormon patriarch, who resides in the desert with his four wives and innumerable children.
Second Place – “Underground” by Beth Hurst
“We were only there because they had encountered a problem.”
When a group of builders engaged with the construction of a new underground line encounter problems, university archaeologists are brought in to assist. Conflicting interests between the two groups are brought to a head when a new discovery is uncovered.
Third Place – “Two Birds, One Stone” by Amanda Fleming
“She held the stone that hit the bird, she aimed her sights and threw it but it was the stone itself that killed the creature. ‘Severe cerebral oedema’ or ‘blunt force trauma’ was what Cecily thought had occurred.”
A disturbed young woman’s penchant for destruction comes back to haunt her in an unusual and unexpected way.
Shortlist
“Death is Not an Alibi” by Ellen Lavelle
“The deal was that if you told us the information, your friends wouldn’t be prosecuted. We didn’t prosecute them. What happened last night was nothing to do with the force.”
Detective Rick Peraquez is in hot water. Twelve men have been murdered. Could he, or someone close to him, be next?
“Do You Remember This Place?” by Alick McCallum
“Burning torches give life to the hallway that stretches on and then on. The air is warm and the floor light to walk upon whilst the walls are thick and strong and grey. You know though, I see it in the periphery of your mind, that these walls were once white, but are now stained by the blackness that seeps through from the outside world with reaching fingers. These stones wear the colour grey both as their armour and their battle wound. The blackness is reaching, always reaching now, for you.”
“The Visiting Professor” by Lubjana Matin-Scammell
“There was the familiarity she had grown up with. She felt comfortable with him. She learnt things about her parents’ country which she had never visited. She didn’t know any men who read. All the men in her family worked in in finance or engineering.”
A young girl’s passion for English Literature is inflamed when she meets her uncle’s quiet, educated friend. Years later, he becomes her tutor at university, and the two begin a secret liaison. But are they living on borrowed time?
Image Credits: Header (Flickr/Peter Thoeny), Image 1 (telegraph.co.uk), Image 2 (Flikr/i k o).
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