Flash Fiction Competition Winners 2025

 

The results for last year's competition were as follows:

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1st prize - 'Heredity' by Anji Brown

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The girl watches her mother gather origami folds of fabric, tossing it into the air to billow down over the bed. The boy reads stories of courage and heroism, learning to be strong and brave. The girl sees her mother spreading a cloud of cloth over the table; she places on it the food they have prepared. The boy learns that sometimes you have to fight for home and family, country and beliefs. 

 

Years later, the boy, now a man, returns from the war. The girl, now a woman, knows just how to spread the flag over his coffin.

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2nd prize - 'Sunflower Picking' by Philippa Leah

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Deliberating over which stem to snip, he weaved endlessly through rows of sunflowers stooped low with the sorrow of late summer. 

 

My impatience roiled, but settled when I imagined him the following week, planted on a carpet with legs crossed and brow furrowed, trying to adhere to his teacher’s instructions. I wanted the soil, the breeze, the broad cloud-scudded sky to burrow into him and germinate.  

 

When he found the one, he needed both hands to work the secateurs. He solemnly placed the chosen flower in my hands, then turned and ran to climb hay bales. 

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3rd prize - 'Unremarkably Remarkable' by Chloe Barker

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I stretch my fingers over the steering wheel, resting my chin atop them. From
our hill, I look down at our town, an unimpressive place that never changed.
That’s what we loved about it.
Its predictability.
The roads, the lanes, the buildings. They’re a blueprint, a map scattered with
our landmarks:
The swings where we played together.
The theatre where we had our first date.
The street corner where we snuck our first kiss.
The church where we promised forever.
Our home where we raised our family.
The hospital where we said goodbye.
You made the unremarkable, remarkable.