Editor Unleashed/Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 – I got in

First off, thanks to all of you that took the time to vote for me in the recent Editor Unleashed Flash Fiction 40 competition. I am very pleased to say that I won a place in the top 40. I didn’t win first prize, but out of 280 entries it’s incredibly satisfying to get selected into the top 40. My story, Parklife, will now be included in the winners anthology, published by Smashwords, and I’ll also get $25 prize money. Result.

The contest was open genre flash fiction up to a maximum of 1,000 words. There was a period of reader voting, followed by an editorial decision by a team of judges, taking the reader votes heavily into consideration. Under conditions like these it’s incredibly gratifying to be recognised. This particular story had been rejected by various magazines and ezines six times before I decided to enter it into this comp. It had been reworked and edited numerous times (after every rejection, in fact) and was eventually extremely heavily trimmed from a short story of around 2,200 words to a flash piece of 967 words. And then it found a home. Ain’t editing a wonderful thing? Proof positive that a piece of fiction can be considered finished many times before it really is.

So thanks again to those who voted, congratulations to Ravenne for her winning story and congratulations to the other top 39. Also congratulations to the 240 entrants that didn’t score a place this time. Having the balls to write a piece and enter it into a public contest is worthy of adulation in itself.

Here’s a full list of the winning entries. I’ll be sure to let you know when the Smashwords anthology is available.

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