Updated January, 2018: Tomorrow published in Midnight Echo
Approximately 12 hours after winning the flash category in the Australian Horror Writers Association’s Flash & Short Story Competition, I had a world-class hangover.
So I’d like to thank the organisers, like Cameron Trost, and the judges—Joseph Ashley Smith, Zoe Downing and Lee Murray—for the thumbs up, and the hangover.
It’s not every day you get such a colourful, ego-inflating review of your work from respected peers. And being compared to Burroughs? Wow. Joseph, you may have created a monster.
Here’s what the judges said:
‘In the flash category, we chose Tomorrow as the winning story. Joseph described it as, “surreal and sinister, with bursts of beautifully horrific imagery that reminded me of Burroughs, or Bosch.” From the outset, the shifting POV was unsettling, Zoe stating that the voice’s manipulation of the character was particularly disturbing, and how by accepting responsibility for the character’s actions, it freed the character to act in horrific ways. In fact, the actions occurring off-stage were perhaps the most frightening aspect of Tomorrow, a world of horror beyond what was written on the page. While the full intent of the story wasn’t readily absorbed in a single reading, the judges agreed that a second reading only enhanced their enjoyment of this weird tale.’
For all the competition details, go to the AHWA Competition page. Aussie horror writers should get involved and become members. Great community. I feel at home among these loveable freaks.
‘Tomorrow’ will be published in the AHWA mag, Midnight Echo.
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