Short Story Success

After my minor success in winning a small, local competition I entered stories in all sorts of national competitions. Occasionally, one would make the long list, but it wasn't until 2002 that things started to happen. In that year one of my stories won a Scottish Regional final and went on to the national finals in London. Another, about a prostitute and set on Palisados, the long shingle spit off Kingston harbour in Jamaica (above), was 'highly recommended' in another competition. More importantly, both were published in magazines.

Then, in 2003, I entered a story for the Bridport Prize which, at that time, was probably Britain's top short story competition. I didn't think it stood much chance: the prize is for stories up to 5,000 words long, and this one was only 2,400. It was also one of those rare short stories which seemed almost perfectly formed the minute it was written, so it had undergone relatively little editing.

Set in a desert, it was written about a dog and, in my view, was all about his small revenge on humankind. The judge, Rose Tremain, seemed to get the wrong end of the stick, describing 'The Crossing' as "beautifully plotted" and "a powerful drama" but also "a moving meditation on the world's indifference to those who have been left on the wayside on life's journey" - referring, I think, to the old lady who owned the dog.

'Dog' is still the file name for this story but it doesn't matter: 'The Crossing' won the Bridport Prize and I was ecstatic. I had never before set myself such an ambitious target and then achieved it.

Read 'The Crossing' here.

Less than two years later 'Bendera Beach' won another prestigious competition, the Royal Society of Literature's VS Pritchett Prize. This was a story which, in contrast to 'The Crossing', had taken hours and hours to perfect. It's a desperately sad tale about the inability of a traditional community to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, with catastrophic consequences. It's probably the best short story I have ever written. Read it here.