Last week I had the great success of a creative writing WIN!
I won First Place in the Stringybark Short Story Award 2024.
Crowd Surfing is about the search for healing in the middle of grief. A mother has lost her son to suicide, and after finding a ticket for a punk rock show in his room, goes along to the show to search for understanding about who he was, what the music meant to him, and what he meant to her and other people.
I knew I had been shortlisted for the anothology, which of itself, is a WIN. To win a place was quite the surprise.
Today I received a lovely email from David, who passed on a message from the second place winner, Rob, who had this to say about my story.
Before getting down to business I will say cheekily, any disappointment I may have felt (hypothetically) being beaten for First Prize (such arrogance) disappeared in an instant upon reading “Crowd Surfing”.
Adam Byatt generated a surprisingly strong emotional response. My heartfelt congratulations to him.
I haven’t had a chance to read Rob’s story yet, but it will be on the agenda for the weekend.
And then the misses arrived.
The very next day, Tuesday, I had a rejection for a story. Followed by another rejection on the Friday.
But that’s how it is.
Time to refine. Rewrite. Resubmit.
Crowd Surfing is available from the Stringybark website.
You can pre-order print copies, or if you’d like a digital version, head to Smashwords and you can get 25% off the price using the code: PJ97B. It is valid for as many uses as you wish but please note it expires on 15 August 2024.
A Fullness in Brevity - Adam Byatt 