Cock’s Eye Moon by
Lara Saunders (1st Prize)
Lara Saunders is a
creative writing graduate and social worker living and writing on Peramangk
land in South Australia. Her work has been twice shortlisted for the Victoria
University Short Story Prize and twice longlisted for the Commonwealth Writers
Prize. She was a recipient of the 2021 SA Emerging Writers Fellowship and is
currently working on a novel-length story.
Judge’s comment:
‘This is a clear winner and a wonderful story ‒ tight, atmospheric,
dramatic ‒ and it was really compelling to read from beginning to end. The
narrative voice completely inhabits the character and filters the whole
proceedings. The author really understands how to enclose and frame a short
story, how to use character dynamics and development to increase tension and intrigue,
and how to draw the reader into a disquieting world without losing authenticity
and credibility. The prose is natural and evocative, descriptive but not
overdone, with some absolutely beautiful phrasing. As with all great short
stories it has its own torque, that subversive un-guessable feeling, a
satisfying, and in this case tragic, payoff at the end.’
‘I am so proud
that it found a home within the beautifully crafted pages of The Moth.’
Lara Saunders
Double Happiness by Louise Miller
(2nd Prize)
Louise
Miller was born in Glasgow, has lived in Sydney, Bahrain and Bali and now lives
in London. She graduated from the MFA Writing programme at the University of
Nebraska in Omaha in 2013. Her food-themed stories are a result of a curiosity
for the surreal and relief from the demands of standing for long hours as a
professional chef. Committed to writing, despite a day job with the NHS now,
she is passionate about the short story form.
Judge’s comment:
‘I just love the
strangeness and compression of this story, its tight focus and address, and the
unpredictable quality. The details and observations are astute and the tone is
very unsettling. The information withheld by the protagonist is interpretable
by the reader and allows a greater sense of understanding and disquiet, as we
know more than she... It’s a complete little gothic tale, domestically occult,
surprising, but still emotionally moving and human. It pulls no punches, and
chooses a careful narrative frame but the reader still has a (horrifying!)
sense of what lies beyond its borders.’
If Ye Love Me by Joe
Richards (3rd
Prize)
Joe Richards was born in Worcestershire in
1946 and studied Theatre at Dartington College of Arts at Hull University. He
worked as an actor and director for many years and taught Theatre at Dartington
and at Plymouth University. He has written plays for radio (BBC Radio 3) and
for stage, including ‘Big Book for Girls’, a ‘glorious piss-take of 1930s girls’
boarding school adventure stories, described as ‘gleefully perverse’ by the Financial
Times and ‘blissful’ by The Observer.
Judge’s comment:
‘A striding story that
covers so much ground with really evocative detail and momentum. To begin with
it seems like a memory piece but takes on a plot-life of its own, to become a
complete narrative rather than just a reflection. The dynamics between boys, parents
and overseers ‒ both neglectful and pastoral ‒ are so well portrayed, with
heart-rending moments, humour and wit, and a real understanding of psychology.’
All three stories are published in the autumn 2022 issue of
The Moth, available to purchase
here.
COMMENDED STORIES:
As She Lay Dying by David Hanson
David Hanson grew up in
a stagnating northern town before escaping to university in a resurgent
northern city. He travelled the world, fell in love and moved to London. After
finding neither fame nor fortune, he moved to rural Essex to start a family, a business,
a covers band … and to pursue his dream of becoming a writer.
Dip
by Madeleine Rebbechi
Madeleine Rebbechi is a
writer and book publicist based in Naarm/Melbourne. She has written music and
arts reviews, radio scripts and media kits, but her true love is fiction. She
is currently undertaking a Master of Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing
at the University of Melbourne.
Ambition by Bernard Steeds
Bernard
Steeds has won several awards for short fiction and non-fiction, and
has published one collection of short stories, Water (Penguin
Books). His work has featured in various journals and anthologies
including Exposition Review and The Penguin Book of
Contemporary New Zealand Short Stories. He lives in Wellington, New
Zealand.
The Brain Named Itself by Jude
Whiley
Jude Whiley is a student of Creative Writing at Birkbeck,
University of London. He is features editor at Yuck magazine and
previously studied with Faber and Faber on their ‘Writing a Novel’ course. His
fiction has been published in The Moth and is due to be published in The
Forge. His non-fiction has been published by The Fence. He is
currently working on a short story collection.
