The Write Path 2020

By NAWG Publishing

The Write Path 2020 contains all of the winning entries from the 2020 National Association of Writers and Groups members-only competitions, along with all of the judges' comments. The 2020 anthology includes contributions from Michael Parris, Lesley James, David Potter, Vivien Leanne Saunders, Christine L Lowes, Tansy Hepton, Carol Mogano, Raman John Cook, Alison Ringrose, Masami Hirata-Smith, Carol Hurley, Emma Finlayson-Palmer, Lynda Turner, Vivien Brown, Susan Clark, Natasha Derczynski, Elizabeth Woodgate, Emma Melville, Denise McSheehy, Alison Allen, Barbara Hickson and Shirley Cook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: NAWG Publishing
• Release date: Nov 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393349051

Book preview

The Write Path 2020

The Write Path 2020

Our 2020 Anthology of Award-Winning Writing

The National Association of Writers and Groups

NAWG Publications

Published by NAWG Publications

Anthology compiled, designed, typeset and proofread by NAWG Committee Members Simon Whaley, Marilyn Pemberton and Elizabeth Ashcroft for NAWG Publications.

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Cover photograph: The path beside Rydal Water, Cumbria.

© Simon Whaley.

The Write Path 2020

The Best Creative Writing from

The National Association of Writers and Groups.

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Including the Open Short Story and Poetry competitions,

the 2020 Virtual Festival Flash Poetry and Flash Fiction competitions,

and 100 x 100 competition.

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© 2020 National Association of Writers and Groups

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Print ISBN: 978-1-9161320-8-5

Join Us!

If you’d like to know more about the National Association of Writers and Groups (NAWG) then visit:

www.nawg.co.uk

We welcome members on an individual basis or as a group, and offer support, advice, writing competitions, LINK (our bi-monthly newsletter) and regular email newsletters, along with workshops and tutorials, weekend retreats and our annual festival.

Contents

2020 NAWG Members’ Competitions Shortlist Results

NAWG OPEN COMPETITION WINNERS

Foreword

Open Poetry

Night Time Barrage

Formal Poem: Villanelle

When A Lorry Threw Its Load

Short Story (With A Given Object): A Silver Propelling Pencil

Home Is Where The Hurt Is

Historical Fiction

UMBRA

Ghost Story

The Godsend

Science Fiction

Dear Traveller

Comedy

Speaking The Lingo

Story or Poem by a Child

Boy Or Beast

Travel Article

Tea in Kyoto

Memoir

One Hundred Helium Balloons

Ten-Minute Play Or Monologue

Ruby Red

Group Anthology 2020

2020 Festival 100-word Flash Fiction

Conversation

Flash Fiction Runners Up

2020 Festival Flash Poetry

Moonbeam

Flash Poetry Runners Up

100 x 100 Competition

100 x 100 Winning Entry - Our Cycle

NAWG Open Short Story Competition

Devil’s Food

Worth Dying For

Intimacy

NAWG Open Poetry Competition

The Confession

The Killing Time

A Night Out With The Girls

A Message From The Chairman

2020 NAWG Members’ Competitions Shortlist Results

The full list of shortlisted entries for each category are as follows:

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OPEN POETRY (Judge: Daisy Watkin)

Night Time Barrage - Michael Parris

Last Christmas - Michael Brent Kelly

Not Here - Not Now - Jo Roberts

My Red Sea - Diane Wilson

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Highly Commended:

A Small Boy Rebukes A Tyrant - Christopher Stephen Middleton

The Tapestry Child - Elizabeth Draper

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FORMAL POEM, VILLANELLE (Judge: Sue Clark)

When a Lorry Threw Its Load - Lesley James

Not Meant To Be - Ed Blundell

Killing Villanelle - Robert Thomas Crockett

Pete's Sunflower - Fiona Dudley

SHORT STORY WITH GIVEN OBJECT (Judge: Tim Wilson)

Home Is Where The Hurt Is - David Potter

Crosswords - Lynda Turner

Relatives You Inherit - Friends You Choose - Jo Roberts

We'll Meet Again - Carole Ann Smith

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HISTORICAL FICTION (Judge: Tim Wilson)

Umbra - Vivien Leanne Saunders

Seeds of Life - Alison Ringrose

And Then There Was Light - Penny Ellis

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GHOST STORY (Judge: Steve Bowkett)

The Godsend - Christine L Lowes

Goodbye - Christine Williams

The Cold Callers - Tim Taylor

A Winter's Tale - John Thompson

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SCIENCE FICTION (Judge: Leonora Rustamova)

Dear Traveller - Tansy Hepton

The Trouble with Clones - Nick Brigham

Final Over - Lynda Turner

COMEDY (Judge: George Simmers)

Speaking the Lingo - Carol Mogano

The Curious Case of the Curious Case - Robert Rayner

‘Make ’Em Laugh’ - John Welford

Daylight Robbery - Richard Layton

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STORY OR POEM BY CHILDREN (Judge: Steve Bowkett)

Boy or Beast - Raman John Cook

Fox Performance - Ava Saffron Garrett

Flowerbud Valley And The Search For The Enchanted Love Charm - Daisy Anais Heggie

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TRAVEL ARTICLE (Judge: Simon Whaley)

Tea in Kyoto - Alison Ringrose

An Autistic Guide to Cornwall - Masami Hirata-Smith

Walking on the Rio Formosa on the Eastern Algarve - Margaret Morey

Berlin on Two Budgets - John Welford

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MEMOIR (Judge: Simon Whaley)

One Hundred Helium Balloons - Masami Hirata-Smith

Sunny Days - Peter Pool

Mine - Michael Parris

Boots and Boxes - Alison Ringrose

A Very Curious Incident - Carol Hurley

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10-MINUTE PLAY OR MONOLOGUE (Judge: Marvin Close)

Ruby Red - Vivien Leanne Saunders

Wishful Thinkng Or Not - Lynda Turner

Remember - Diane Wilson

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ANTHOLOGY (Judges: Hastings Writers’ Group)

The Story Box - Bold Writers

Rampant Follies - Leeds Writers and Poets

Imagining Age - Hinckley Scribblers

The Coffee Stop Collection - The Paperback Writers with The Dark Writers

NAWG OPEN COMPETITION WINNERS

SHORT STORY

Winner: Devil’s Food by Elizabeth Woodgate

Second: Worth Dying For by Emma Melville

Third: Intimacy by Denise McSheehy

POETRY

Winner: The Confession by Alison Allen

Second: The Killing Time by Barbara Hickson

Third: A Night Out With The Girls by Shirley Cook

Foreword

From the Competition Administrator:

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First, I would like to thank the judges of all the classes for their excellent work. I’d also like to congratulate all the winners and the shortlisted writers and thank all the entrants for taking part.

The Figures

Not counting the Group Anthology, for which there were nine entries, the total number of entries was 310 from 110 writers. By class, the entries submitted electronically (e) and on paper (p) were:

Children’s - 5 (e) - 3 (p) = 8

Comedy - 15 (e) - 11 (p) = 26

Formal Poem (Villanelle) - 15 (e) - 21 (p) = 36

Ghost Story - 18 (e) - 16 (p) = 33

Historical Fiction - 14 (e) - 11 (p) = 25

Memoir - 17 (e) - 18 (p) = 35

Open Poem - 30 (e) - 24 (p) = 54

Play/Monologue - 7 (e) - 8 (p) = 15

Science Fiction - 16 (e) - 9 (p) = 25

Short Story (Given Object) - 20 (e) - 17 (p) = 37

Travel - 7 (e) - 9 (p) = 16

Totals - 164 (e) - 146 (p) = 310

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I suggested to judges that they should shortlist a number corresponding to about 10% of the entry for each class with a minimum number of three. Ultimately 41 individual pieces were shortlisted plus 4 of the anthologies. Eight writers were shortlisted in more than one class, including two shortlisted in three. We had one double winner.

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Penny Ellis

NAWG Competition Administrator

Open Poetry

The Daisy Watkins Trophy

Judge: Daisy Watkin

Winner: Michael Parris

Judge's Notes

There were 54 entries to the competition and I’d like to thank everyone for entering.

I was looking for poetry which is a quality of the words. Short lines, meter, rhyme, assonance, metaphor and all the other appurtenances open to the poet must be subservient to the poetry of the words. Unfortunately in what we refer to as Modern Poetry, this is often lacking.

Another important feature of poetry is flow. If there are interruptions to the flow of words and meaning then it jars more strongly in poetry than in prose.

All these things engender