Flash Fiction Judge’s Report Q2 2024

Judge’s Report by Amanda Saint

Many thanks to Lorraine for inviting me to judge this contest again.

What an amazing array of stories and voices but at the heart of them all, I sensed an underlying theme of striving for deeper connection. A reflection of the divisive times we find ourselves living in where many of us are disconnected from each other, our homelands, nature, and ourselves. The stories I’ve read seemed to be trying to find a way to reconnect us with it all.

From the first reading, the stories I have chosen as winners stood out to me but I would also like to give a nod to Cinders, T-I-M-E, and Dad, Springsteen and Me, which all made my shortlist of the shortlist.

All of the stories I read have much to recommend them though, and I’m sure a different judge would have chosen different stories. But I hope you enjoy the ones that spoke to me.

First Place: That Time in the 90s When I Tried to Forget I was Flammable

This story perfectly captures that time of life when you haven’t figured out who you are yet so try to be what others want, or expect, you to be. The protagonist’s mix of vulnerability and bravado is so real while the cultural references place the story deftly in the era without feeling heavy-handed. I love the last line and how it calls us back to the title but, more importantly, shows us the insight this girl has to her own breakability.

Second Place: In the end we will always exist

The rawness that fuels this from the start acts as a great contrast to the outpouring of unexpected and unfathomable grief that gripped the UK when Princess Diana died. Really great use of point of view and I loved how it seamlessly moved between first plural, first and second and the layers of the relationship between these two girls that it revealed. Love the ending which leaves so much to the interpretation of what comes next.

Third Place: Passing

This breathless one sentence story is so tense. How the jumping around of the narrator’s thoughts reflects the speed at which the car is hurtling towards disaster, as well as how we’re told life flashes before your eyes when you’re dying, is really well done. The use of second person point of view adds a layer of remove that means the story has all the more impact.