
Short Story Competition 2024/25
The results are:
Gold: Some say Hector the badger wasn’t a badger after all by Emma Williams of Ludlow, UK
Silver: A Whisker Away by Shrish Jirapure of Slough, UK
Bronze: The Word Thief by Jay McKenzie of Republic of Korea
Highly Commended: Dead Dreams by Sandeep Kumar Mishra of Rajasthan, India
Our congratulations go to these and our thanks to all those who entered the competition. Please see below for more details of the competition judge and medallists.
Contact
info@wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk
Terms and Conditions
These can be found here: ‘Terms & Condition
Julia Jarman
Julia lives in Riseley, Bedfordshire. Born Julia Hudspeth in Deeping St James near the city of Peterborough in the UK, she now lives in Riseley, Bedfordshire. Julia studied English and drama at Manchester University and then qualified as a teacher. Her first book, When Poppy Ran Away, was published in 1985. She has written adult and children fiction.
2024/25 Medallists
Emma Williams worked in the NHS for thirty years and now writes novels, short stories and poetry. Her first novel ‘The Tortoise’ (2021) is about a retired G.P. suspected of murder after inheriting a tortoise with a past. Her second, ‘Nothing but the Truth’ (2023) is a crime novel featuring a female bank-robber masquerading as a rural vicar. She is currently writing a noir comedy. A collection of her prize-winning and award-listed short stories, ‘Best Served Cold’, is due to be published next year. Instagram: tortoise_books; Website: emmawilliams.online
Shirish Jirapure lives in Slough where he likes to write short stories in parallel to working on the manuscript for his debut novel. He also has a travel blog he updates with each expedition around the world. When not writing, Shirish is either bouldering at a local gym where he likes to pretend he is half decent at the sport, or is in another continent exploring new cultures and having exciting adventures.
Jay McKenzie’s work appears in adda, Maudlin House, The Hooghly Review, Fahmidan Journal, Fictive Dream and others. She has been recognised in prizes such as Exeter Story Prize, The Henshaw Prize, Quiet Man Dave, Edinburgh Story Award, Oxford Flash Fiction Prize, Exeter Novel Prize, The Alpine Fellowship, Bath Short Story Award, Aesthetica Creative Writing Award, The Bridport Prize, Fish Short Story Prize and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her debut novel, Mim and Wiggy’s Grand Adventure (Serenade, 2023), is followed by How to Lose the Lottery (Harper Fiction, 2026). Find her at www.jaymckenzieauthor.com or Instagram @jay_writes_books.
The Creative Arts Short Story competition is organised by Maggie Bardsley, Jo Jackson and Alison Richards of ‘Writers on the Edge’.