Announcement: Willesden 2017 Results

Our 2017 judge Lane Ashfeldt says she had a great time reading (and re-reading!) all the shortlisted stories, and choosing the top three was a really tough call. She is delighted to pass on the titles of the ten winning stories selected for the book, which she hopes you will buy, read and enjoy*. And she’s looking forward to finding out who wrote them.

So without further ado, here are the winning entries, runners-up and long-listed in this hotly contested year. Congratulations to all, thanks for these marvellous short stories.

And the one-off Willesden Herald mug inscribed “Willesden Short Story Prize 2017” goes to:
1st Prize (£300) –  “Dark Song” by Roberta Dewa

2nd (£200): “Art Zoo” by Paul J. Martin
3rd (£100): “Swimming Lessons” by Douglas Hill

(The remaining seven shortlisted receive £75 each.)

Shortlist
The following will be published in “Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 10”:
A History of Fire by Gerard McKeown
Art Zoo by Paul Martin
Dark Song by Roberta Dewa
Isa’s Pitch by Maureen Cullen
Rictus by Tanvir Bush
Swimming Lessons by Douglas Hill
The Day John Lennon Died by Raphael Falco
The Fish that was not my Pa by Meganrose Weddle
The Quarry by Katherine Davey
Trespass by Roland Miles

Long List
A History of Fire by Gerard McKeown
Air by Angelina Taylor
Art Zoo by Paul Martin
Dancing Her Black Bones Home by Suzanne Conboy-Hill
Dark Rain Falling by Deirdre Shanahan
Dark Song by Roberta Dewa
Isa’s Pitch by Maureen Cullen
Out by the Lough by Sue Lovett
Overnight in the Day Room by Deirdre Shanahan
Reverse Reaction by Anna Glokas
Rictus by Tanvir Bush
Swimming Lessons by Douglas Hill
The Collectors by Michael Antoinetti
The Day John Lennon Died by Raphael Falco
The Fish that was not my Pa by Meganrose Weddle
The Lapidary by Melanie Whipman
The Nationals by Andrew Moffat
The Quarry by Katherine Davey
Trespass by Roland Miles
Winter Kale by Shannon Hopkins

There were 445 entries in total. Thank you to everyone who entered and gave us such delicious torment over the past months trying to see how we could possibly choose between so many fascinating stories.

* Coming soon: Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 10. Watch this space for news on its launch and release.

George Saunders on the art of the story

Short story writer George Saunders, winner of the Man Booker prize for 2017 for his debut novel Lincoln in the Bardo, on "how to tell a compelling and humanizing story—and how to avoid the pitfalls of a bad one."

Seasons

Don't look harshly on
the cold season that comes,
embrace it like an old friend
you might never see again.

Say something to Spring,
it's not without fears,
it's destined for the tragedy
of completeness.

Summer wants you,
Summer is not shy.
Summer won't bite you,
at least say Hi.

Take Autumn to the theatre,
something serious. Read
free verse from before the war.
But hurry.

--
Stephen Moran
(2010)

All the happy moments

All the happy moments have whirled and twirled
and flown south for the winter. This morning
a few crazy stragglers defy the rain, and down here
the heavy minutes, shaking out their feathers.

--
Stephen Moran
(2013)

Street layout improvements - Sudbury Hill Harrow

Improvement works on Greenford Road near Sudbury Hill have been going on for "quite a while". A local woman passerby volunteered, "They don't know what they're doing."

Note: It's a joint project by Ealing and Harrow councils as the area around the station crosses the boundary between the two boroughs with Ealing to the south of the railway bridge and Harrow to the north. The map in the photo is aligned north to the right and south to the left.