Category: fiction

Competitions, fiction, microfiction6 Comments

Winning stories of the VI edition of The César Egido Serrano International Short Story Competition

Barry Lee Thompson

The first prize went to ‘Fly’ by José Manuel Dorrego Sáenz, from Madrid, Spain. The winning story was written in Spanish, and its author wins $20,000. There were three second prizes of $2000 awarded to the highest-ranking entries in each of the other languages of the contest:‘Where Do You Think You’re Going?!’ is by Emilia Sheppard, resident in Warsaw, Poland – their story was written in English;‘Woodpecker’ is by Natheer Alzuabi, resident in Vienna, Austria – their story was written in Arabic;‘Pink’ is by Ravit Grossman, resident in Herzeliya Israel – their story was written in Hebrew. In line with … Continue reading Winning stories of the VI edition of The César Egido Serrano International Short Story Competition

Broken Rules and Other Stories, fiction, The story behind the story13 Comments

The story behind ‘Twitch’

Barry Lee Thompson

In December 2013, London’s Dazed magazine launched a competition calling for short stories ‘based on surveillance culture’. I’d long been a fan of the magazine, and was drawn to the theme, so thought I’d give it a whirl. I wanted to look at online surveillance, privacy and metadata, and concerns around the trails and traces we deposit in online spaces. The first few sentences of a story came to me quickly, and I was off. I found it easy and fun to explore on the page the liberating, if at-times anxious, aspects of online experiences, and of adult chat platforms … Continue reading The story behind ‘Twitch’

Broken Rules and Other Stories, Events, fiction4 Comments

Festival reflections

Barry Lee Thompson

When I first began sending work to publications and competitions, I realised that something strange happens once a story is submitted. Despite all the time spent honing, refining, getting it just right, almost immediately after hitting ‘submit’, issues and ideas previously hidden become apparent, opening up new and exciting ways to think about the story. This may be to do with distance from the submission process, stepping outside the piece and experiencing it objectively. With a few years under my belt, I’ve acquired a toolbox of resources for tricking my mind into believing a story’s been sent before it actually … Continue reading Festival reflections

fiction, flash fiction4 Comments

Life Drawing

Barry Lee Thompson

Maybe you could sketch me. I’ll recline, here on the couch, and you can study me all afternoon. No clothes, isn’t that the way it’s done? Turn up the heating, I’ll cover the cost. I’ll fall asleep eventually, drowsy with warmth, and you’ll be able to take your time, to notice the unguarded in my expression, capture the unexpected in my pose, see the detail beneath my skin. Take me by surprise with the finished drawing. I like surprises. What else were you going to do today? No one’s drawn me before. It must be fascinating to see oneself portrayed. … Continue reading Life Drawing