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TRACEY SLAUGHTER’S ‘REASONS TO END US (AN AERIEL
VIEW)’ WINS MOTH SHORT STORY PRIZE 2024 JUDGED BY LOUISE KENNEDY
‘The
sheer joy of knowing my lines have landed is such a source of light in the
writing life, and never stops feeling like a miracle – it always makes my
writer-veins thrum to know my work has connected. And right now that
writer-self is burning to get free of her day-job and make it to the page, so
anything which helps me carve out time at the keys feels like deliverance! I’m
so intensely grateful to The Moth!’ Tracey Slaughter
‘The narrator’s voice in this exceptional work is so
insistent, so intense, reading it literally took my breath away. Formally this
is a wonder, comprising thirty ‘reasons’. Some are stinging, paragraph-length
vignettes, and the briefest are often the most devastating. There is
extraordinary control here, but what really sets this short story apart is
timing; details -startling in their originality- explode like little bombs and
revelations land at precisely the right moment. What a story. A truly worthy winner.
’ Louise Kennedy
Slaughter,
a poet, essayist and fiction writer from Aotearoa in New Zealand, is no
stranger to The Moth Short Story Prize, as her story ‘Postcards are a Thing of
the Past’ was awarded 2nd prize by the 2018 judge, Kevin Barry. Her
latest works are the poetry collection The Girls in the Red House are
Singing and the fiction collection Devil's Trumpet. Her writing has
received numerous awards, including the Calibre Essay Prize, the Manchester
Poetry Prize, the Fish Short Story Prize and the Bridport Prize. She lives in
Kirikiriroa, where she teaches Creative Writing at the University of Waikato
and edits the journals Mayhem and Poetry Aotearoa.
Slaughter will be awarded €3,000 and her story is
published as part of the summer fiction series in the Irish Times.
2nd PRIZE Catastrophic by June Caldwell
‘“Catastrophic”
grabbed me with its playful, punny title and frank opening ‒ "Our cat has gone
missing ..." ‒ and held me by the throat to the end. The story isn’t really about the
cat, of course, but the exhausting, chaotic relationship the narrator was in
when the animal came into her life. The writing has tremendous verve, the
imagery surprises, and I love the original and demotic use of language, rich
with Dorothy Parker level quips. The final communications with the ex are
desperately sad, yet lifted by dark humour, acceptance, and the spectre of the
poor wise cat. Lovely stuff.’
’ Louise Kennedy
Caldwell,
who lives in Dublin, is the author of acclaimed short story collection Room
Little Darker, and her debut novel Little Town Moone is
forthcoming from John Murray. Her essays and short stories have been published
in numerous anthologies and journals. In 2020 she curated an exhibition
entitled 'Somebody' on the legacy of Nuala O'Faolain at the Museum of
Literature Ireland (MoLi). She is the recipient of two arts council bursaries
for literature and facilitates workshops on the short story form at The Irish
Writers Centre. She was a prizewinner of The Moth Short Story Prize in 2014
(judged by Mike McCormack) and has been shortlisted for many others, including
Short Story of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.
Caldwell will spend a week at the luxury writing
retreat, Circle of Misse, in France.
3rd
PRIZE Gertrude’s Favourite
Pfeffernüsse by Melanie McGee Bianchi
‘This
is an artfully drawn portrait of someone who is rather less than they thought
they would be. A character like Vark could be a figure of fun, but the writer
lets him move through the world with dignity and a heart-rending acceptance of
the constrictions that have left him stuck. The descriptors here are both fresh
and familiar, giving this short story almost filmic clarity. His tenderness
towards his daughter has a quiet desperation, making the final blow hit hard.
Poignant, funny and emotionally astute.’ Louise Kennedy
McGee
Bianchi is a journalist and short-story writer from the Blue Ridge mountains of
North Carolina. She edits two regional magazines, Asheville Made and Carolina
Home + Garden. Stories collected in her book The Ballad of
Cherrystoke first appeared in literary magazines including The Moth, The
Mississippi Review and Chattahoochee Review. Melanie writes a lot
about traditional Appalachian music; her article about eighth-generation a
capella ballad singers from Madison County, North Carolina, was published
last winter in Oxford American magazine. She lives with her husband,
teenage son, identical twin sister and a cat named Goose.
For
her story, she will be awarded €1,000.
ABOUT THE
PRIZE
Every year, a single author is asked to anonymously judge The Moth Short
Story Prize, choosing three winning stories from entries submitted
worldwide.
The winner receives €3,000, with the runners-up receiving a week-long stay at
the wonderful Circle of Misse plus an open travel stipend, and €1,000
respectively.
Previous judges include Martina Evans, John Boyne, Donal Ryan, Belinda McKeon,
Mike McCormack, Kevin Barry, Ali Smith, Mark Haddon, Sarah Hall and Ottessa
Moshfegh.
The winning story is printed as part of the summer
fiction series in the Irish Times, while the 2nd and 3rd-prize-winning
stories are published in the Irish Times online.
With thanks to Circle of Misse for the superb
second prize of a week-long writing retreat in France and an open travel
stipend, enabling the 2nd prize winner to travel to France from
anywhere in the world.
Call 00 353 87 2657251 or email
enquiries@themothmagazine.com for more details
  
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