Congratulation to our three winners. Thank you to our wonderful judge Della Galton for sifting through the 27 entries we had. It was a tough job but finally unable to distinguish between 2nd and 3rd place we have awarded them both joint 2nd. Thank you to everyone who took part.

First place

Mandy Rose – Freak Show

Althea moved closer. The reflected figure elongated, then contracted. Limbs stretched, the hands now by the knees. A mirror didn’t always show the truth.
The funhouse rang with excited shrieks. Giggling girls in boaters and posing lads in their best jackets exaggerated their movements to make their mirrored selves more grotesque. Althea loved it here, in this place everyone was a freak, inside its shining walls, beauty became oddity, abnormality was king.
She stepped back into the outside world and her nose wrinkled at the sweet scent of the hot spun sugar from the candyfloss stall. She walked past the steam organ where puffs of oily smoke and vapour fluttered her veil, she pulled it closer.
Tomorrow the fun fair would be gone, leaving scorched patches of grass as the only evidence that it had ever been there. She was stepping around some taut guy ropes when a pair of shiny brogues appeared in the grass in front of her.
“What’s a delicate rose like you doing walking the fairground alone?”
Althea raised her eyes to the face of her interrogator. His youthful, freckled face was decorated with a luxurious handle-bar moustache.
“Not so delicate Sir, and I live here, there is no-one to threaten me, unless you mean me harm?”
“You live here?” he questioned.
“Indeed Sir, now let me pass if you please.”
Two more men arrived, surrounding Althea.
“You must pay a toll.” Said the first man, emboldened by his friend’s presence. “Let’s have a look at your face, a trim figure like yours must belong to a beautiful girl.”
“Let me pass, or I will call for help!” said Althea. She could feel the trickle of nervous sweat beneath her stays.
“No one will hear you sweetheart.” He reached a hand towards Althea’s veil and other strong arms gripped hers to keep her still.
There was nothing she could do; she closed her eyes and felt her heavy veil lift away from her face. A sharp intake of breath, and her arms were released so quickly that she stumbled and almost fell.
“Good God! What the devil are you?” he murmured.
“Devil is right Fred, let’s go.” His friend tugged his hand. “Come on!”
The men ran away pointing back at Althea. Many of the crowd turned to stare. Althea tried to cover her face with her veil, but it had ripped, and the tattered remnants wouldn’t cover her fur covered skin. She began to sob when a small hand slipped into hers. The soft voice of Lisette soothed her.
“There now, don’t distress yourself.” She said, Lisette was surprisingly strong for her three-foot stature and hauled Althea into her caravan. Seated in front of Lisette’s dressing table, Althea tried to avoid her reflection. “Look at yourself and be proud,” said Lisette, her own kind face appearing beside Althea’s. “Don’t you know by now, what’s on the surface doesn’t reflect what’s inside?”
Althea thought back to the funhouse. Mirrors don’t always show the truth.

Joint Second Place

Martin Baker The Games Girls Play

The music was deafening. The party, crowded with gorgeous girls and loud, confident guys. Zac didn’t fit in. He would have slipped away and gone home if it wasn’t for the girl with the bleached blonde hair. Now it looked like even she had abandoned him.
Zac was nineteen and had never had a girlfriend. Girls found him too nerdy, too shy. His friend, Paul, had dragged him to the house party but, as usual, all the girls were ignoring him. Until Millie. She was pretty, with elf-like features and enormous glasses, dressed in skin-tight jeans and a bright yellow tee-shirt (no bra). They’d been chatting for an hour. She was amazing, funny, intelligent. Zac couldn’t believe his luck. He thought he’d been doing okay, that she liked him, but now decided he’d probably driven her away talking about computer games. She’d been gone for ages. Then…
“Sorry,” she said, handing him a glass of water. “I’ve been searching everywhere for alcohol-free beer, but there aren’t any.” She squeezed down next to him on the sofa.
“Thank you, that’s very kind.” He was surprised she’d come back.
She beamed him a beautiful smile.
“Are you enjoying the party?” she asked. Zac grimaced, Millie laughed. “Would you like to come back to mine for some…fun.”
Zac couldn’t quite believe what he’d heard. He glanced around, half expecting it was a practical joke.
“Um, yeah. Sure. Okay,” he managed. She held his hand as they walked the short distance to her flat.
“Come in, make yourself at home,” she said. “I’m going to slip into something more comfortable.”
Zac sank down on the sofa and studied her eclectic mix of furniture and paintings. The flat smelt of faded incense and coffee. He tried to relax, undid a couple of shirt-buttons, then self-consciously re-buttoned them. His wallet contained a two-year-old condom, he was dismayed to see it was six months past its ‘use before’. He hoped she was on the pill.
When Millie came back, she was wearing a shapeless green sweatshirt and jogging pants. She was holding a Scrabble set.
“Paul said your idea of fun was a night in playing Scrabble,” she said. “I love Scrabble. It’s so nice to meet someone who’s not just trying to get into my pants.”
Zac swallowed, felt guilty and disappointed. Of course she didn’t want sex with him. What was he thinking? He told himself to cheer up. He was alone with the loveliest girl he’d ever met, and he did like playing Scrabble.
“I’ve got to warn you, I’m pretty damn good,” she said.
“I’m pretty damn good myself.”
“Okay, let’s up the stakes. If you win, you can make love to me.”
Zac stared, open mouthed, he suspected a catch.
“Wha..what about if you win?” he stammered.
“Well,” she said, leaning over to kiss him, “then I get to make love to you, silly.”

Joint Second Place

Tracey Astell – Portals of Possibility

“You’ve discovered a what…?”
Eleanor lowered her half-moon reading glasses and peered at Gordon. She clamped her lips together so tightly they resembled an unopened rose bud, which made the skin above her mouth pucker into fine lines. If any occasion demanded her disapproval, this was it, her husband had lost his mind.
“A time portal. In the garden. It’s extraordinary.” Gordon’s words fell out in one breathless tumble as he bounced from one foot to the other, reminding Eleanor of an overexcited six-year-old.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Eleanor noticed Gordon’s eyes had an unusual sparkle, she narrowed hers. “Have you been at Barry’s again?” Their neighbour was known for his strange-smelling roll-ups.
“I’m not making this up. Come and look.” Gordon grabbed Eleanor’s thin wrists with his two large, capable hands and pulled her out of the armchair. Her newspaper fell, scattering pages onto the plush beige carpet. This newly assertive Gordon surprised her.
Eleanor allowed herself to be half-dragged into the garden and down the path. The sun shone on the petunias, and the grass had been freshly cut in perfect stripes. Everything looked normal. She couldn’t imagine what Gordon had found.
Behind the greenhouse, Eleanor followed Gordon’s gesticulating arm and stared in astonishment at the swirling vortex of energy emitting from the middle of the rhubarb patch.
“What is it?” Eleanor leant closer. The ripples and waves at the circle’s edge distorted the mass of dazzling colours pulsating at its centre. “It’s so pretty.”
“Isn’t it brilliant,” said Gordon, “I’ve been through it several times now, safe as houses and so much fun. Want to try?”
“Where does it go?”
“1974 mostly. I went back to the ’90s once. Terrible music. Come on, jump in.”
Eleanor had to admit this sounded more exciting than reading the Sunday papers. When was the last time she’d had any fun? There was no reason not to.
She took Gordon’s hand, and together, they landed gently on a grassy patch above Bournemouth beach. All around them was the buzz of a funfair. The Ferris wheel stood majestic over the carousel and dodgems, but first, Eleanor wanted to ride the brightly coloured spinning teacups. The machines’ whirring, mixed with the tinny music and the delicious duel smells of caramel toffee apples and sugary candy floss wafting around them, brought back happy memories of their first date. They wandered the fair, trying all the rides, until Eleanor spied somewhere she couldn’t wait to go.
“Race you.” Eleanor slipped her hand into Gordon’s and pulled him along with her.
The Hall of Mirrors glittered, reflecting the golden, raspberry-ripple sunset behind them, but that wasn’t what Eleanor wanted to see. She gazed at her face. The lines above her lip had gone. She looked exactly as she had when she had first met Gordon.
“Should we head back soon?” Gordon asked.
“Not on your Nelly,” Eleanor beamed at her handsome husband, “I’m having far too much fun right here, with you.”

Long List Titles (14 stories) – well done to all these stories

A Gentler Shade of Fun

All the Fun of the Fair

Freak Show

Game for a Laugh Or Not

Get Fit for Fun

Gladys and Edith Go to Town

It’ll Be Fun, They Said

Party Time

Portal of Possibilities

The Games Girls Play

The Little Muse

The Village Fete

The Wedding Dip

Universe of Fun

Write a short story in 500 words.

The closing date is 15 March. The competition will be judged by best-selling author Della Galton, who will also be participating with a workshop on writing short stories.

Eligibility

1. Entry is open to everyone.
2. An entry can only be made by the author.
3. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
4. Entries must have the theme of ‘Fun’ and be original and written in English. They must also be aimed at adult or young adult readers.
5. Non-fiction is not eligible.
6. Authors retain full worldwide copyright throughout.
7. Simultaneous submission is allowed. Should your story win a prize or be published elsewhere, please let us know so we can remove your entry from the current Award.

Format

1. Maximum length is 500 words, title excluded.
2. Entries should be typed in a plain, legible font.
3. Entries will be read and judged anonymously, so do not include your name, address, email, telephone number, or any personally identifying information on any page.
4. Acceptable file types are odt, doc, docx, txt and pdf.
5. The file name must be the title of your piece. If your piece has no title, the file name must be its first five words.

Timetable

1. 1 February 2025 Competition opens.
2. 15 March 2025 Competition closes.
3. 2025 Winner announced during the Festival

Submitting

1. Entry is online via email to fictionforfun@btinternet.com. We do not accept postal entries.
2. No corrections or alterations can be made after entries have been received.
3. You may enter a total number of three entries per single entrant.

Payment

1. The standard fee is £5.00 for one submission. £8.00 for two and £10 for three entries.
2. Submissions must be paid for via BACS, and a copy of the receipt must be attached to the email entry.
3. Account details:  Fiction for Fun: 30-99-50:  73133960

Prize

1. The prize for each competition is £50 for the First, £20 for the Second, and £10 for the Third, plus a signed copy of a book by any author contributing to the festival.
2. The competition’s results will be announced during the festival, when the winner will be invited to read their workout.
3. Entrants retain copyright. The winning story will be published on our website.

Entry constitutes acceptance of the above Rules. Entries that fail to comply with the rules will be disqualified. No correspondence can be entered into, and Judges’ decisions are final.