Flash Fiction 2009

The Best Flash Fiction for 2009 is:
Monsieur Méchant	Cheryl Lee Latter	Channel Islands
Cheryl Lee Latter published several fanzines in the '90s, including the official Debbie Harry fan club magazine, Underground Girl. She currently writes for the Guernsey Press and lives on a small island with her husband and young daughter. Cheryl started to send out her poems and stories only a month before winning the Biscuit. She will receive a prize of £1,000.
Runners up, in no order of merit; all Highly Commended, are:
Math is Funny	Amy Burns	Scotland
	Amy Burns, originally from Alabama, now makes her home in Scotland. She is a PhD student in the University of Glasgow's Creative Writing Department. With prose and poetry published online and in print, Amy is excited to have secured London-based representation for her first novel-length work.
Caller	Jacqueline Escolme	England
Jacqueline Escolme lives in Surrey. She writes anything from songs to screenplays. Her non-fiction has been published in South Africa and her unpublished novel and short screenplay were both shortlisted for UK competitions. She draws inspiration from 9 years of travelling and her other life as a nutritionist.
To a Better Life	Gordon Killip	England
	Gordon Killip lives in Dover. Before retiring he occasionally wrote copy for adverts and brochures. Now, in addition to writing a weekly column for a local newspaper, he produces mostly flash fiction, most of which can be described as humorous. He is a member of Deal Writers.
The Possibility of Bears	David Strickland	England
David Strickland lives and writes in London. He has recently completed a collection of short stories, some of which have been read out very softly in public. In 2008, David started an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. He is currently working on his first novel.
Cut Final	Gordon Williams	Northern Ireland
	Gordon Williams comes from Manchester and moved to Northern Ireland, for the peace and quiet, in 1984. He began writing short stories eight years ago and hasn't stopped yet. He recently finished a first novel, but he has a day job and doesn't intend to give it up.
The Losing of Noah McGonagall	Douglas Bruton	Scotland
Douglas Bruton is a teacher at a high school near Edinburgh. His children's book The Chesspiece Magician will be published by Floris Books later in 2009. He writes short fiction and is currently at work on a novel for grownups. He has been published in many literary magazines and competition anthologies. Douglas is also the winner of the the Biscuit Short Fiction Competition 2009.

Flash Fiction Judge's Comments - Gillian Garnham

Gillian Garnham lives in Durham City and in France. She is a previous Biscuit Short Story First-prize winner and author of the novella A Private Event (pub. Biscuit 2005). Gillian's forthcoming full length novel The Good Man of Camerton will be published by Biscuit in August 2009.

377 flash fiction tales were entered. There were no disqualifications. The Biscuit panel of readers read all of the entries, and selected a short list of seven. Gillian read the short list.

"Reading the stories on the final shortlist of Biscuit Publishing's International Flash Fiction Competition 2009, has been a real pleasure. Overall, the group demonstrates the delights and value of this literary genre, offering a mixture of humour; pathos; intelligence, as well as some most engaging writing. However, there is one that remains in my mind as a darkly disturbing story. Monsieur Méchant is remarkable, in that it conveys such complexity in fewer than 600 words. It seems born for this narrow space: the constrictions of the form being ideally suited to its subject matter.

"Having the merits of the fairy story (in which its roots must surely lie), in both style and content, Monsieur Méchant troubles the reader with secrets and dark taboos. This 'woodshed' is a worrying place to be!

"A carefully crafted story - and it is a story, with a beginning, arousing curiosity; a developing narrative line; a turning point; and a conclusion which, paradoxically, is not exactly an ending - this intriguing tale is difficult to shrug off. Like all good writing, it continues to trouble and to provoke, leaving the reader's emotions far from comfortably settled.

"Congratulations to the winner, and my sincere thanks to each of the seven finalists for these most enjoyable 'flashes' of fiction."

Gillian Garnham

To all of you other wonderful writers who submitted such excellent works, we at Biscuit offer heartfelt commiserations. You did not make the cut this time but that has no bearing on, nor makes any reflection of your creative talents and abilities. Resolve to carry on writing. May your endeavours bring you rich rewards. We wish you well.

Brian Lister