Winners 2012

Congratulations to the winners of the 2012 National Flash Fiction Day competition! 

Top honours go to…

FIRST PRIZE

Last Ride by Janet Pates, Tuakau

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RUNNERS-UP

Elephant by Janis Freegard, Wellington

The Peacock by Ann Webber, Auckland

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HIGHLY COMMENDED

Beer Goggles by Tracy Farr, Wellington

Brush with Death by Chris Cole, Wellington

Constitution by Gerard Winter,  Manukau

Possum Hunt by Jac Jenkins, Northland

That Night in Miri’s Kitchen by Sally Houtman, Wellington

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Judges’ Comments

Judge Graeme Lay shared the following on behalf of the judging panel, which also included Stephen Stratford and Tina Shaw:

We all commented on the literary excellence of the best stories – the standard of the writing was very high indeed. After numerous email exchanges we arrived at a longish list of 13 excellent stories. Further email exchanges resulted in a consensus: a winning story, two joint runners-up and five highly commended stories. There was very little to choose between the final eight, but after further re-readings the first-placed story won the three of us over.

As this award shows, the potential of flash fiction is so strong that I’m sure this genre will become a permanent addition to the New Zealand literary scene.

Both [Runner-up stories] had exotic creatures as their central characters, both were highly original and strongly visual, and both had comic elements, which is always welcome. 

The winner of the inaugural New Zealand Flash Fiction Award is a story which works – as all flash fiction must – by the power of suggestion. The rural family’s straitened financial circumstances are hinted at, rather than described in detail. Underpinning the narrative is the intimate relationship between the narrator and his horse, which offers short-term consolation for the impending loss of the farm. It is a poignant tale of rural hardship, told with admirable clarity and restraint.

REGIONAL AWARDS

Christchurch

Rock Star Heaven by Brindi Joy

Northland

The Possum Hunt by Jac Jenkins

Wellington

First: Elephant by Janis Freegard

Runner-up: That Night in Miri’s Kitchen by Sally Houtman

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Congratulations to the thirteen short-listed writers, who are listed here again, in alphabetical order by title:

Beer Goggles by Tracy Farr, Wellington

Brush with Death by Chris Cole, Wellington

Constitution by Gerard Winter, Manukau

Crack by Timothy McGiven, Hamilton

Dadding by Pat Rosier, Wellington

Elephant by Janis Freegard, Wellington

Last Ride by Janet Pates, Tuakau

Rock Star Heaven by Brindi Joy, Christchurch

Queen’s Birthday by Megan Doyle Corcoran, Wellington

That Night in Miri’s Kitchen by Sally Houtman, Wellington

The Peacock by Ann Webber, Auckland

The Possum Hunt by Jac Jenkins, Whangarei

Uses by Zoe Meager, Auckland