Hot off the press – you can read the ten finalists in the Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards online and cast a vote for your favourite. What a cool initiative. I’m keen to have a read – the opening lines featured definitely draw you in – check out these two examples (and then read them and the rest):
“A good turnout isn’t it?”
K B Fleet wasn’t much to look at. He was overweight and sported an unbecoming military buzz-cut but his voice, with its gentle Scottish lilt, had talked many a woman into bed and, from what Simone had heard, few had regretted it. (from The Competition)
Hearing the commotion I rushed to answer the door. Nobody was there. Costumed as a seven-foot ghost with flickering red eyes, I had an elaborately wired headdress – a polystyrene mannequin’s head and shoulders painted black – the base of which sat on the top of my head and was lashed to my shoulders. Embedded into the mannequin’s face were a pair of red light bulbs that could be operated by a switch in my pocket. (from Samson and Delilah)
Information from the site states that The People’s Choice Award is a new addition to the Short Story Awards, with the winner being decided entirely by public vote. The writer of the story which receives the most votes will receive $750 in cash, $250 worth of books from Random House, and their story will be published in the Sunday Star-Times alongside the judge’s choices. Voting opens Sunday, October 11, and closes on Friday, October 23.
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 