Announcing our Drabble* Winners!

* Reminder: a drabble is a short story in 100 words, title not included! A fantasy drabble is the same, but with dragons and magic and fairies, oh my!)

In the Under 11s category .....

The fantastical entries included dangerous summonings, octopuses (octopi?), seasides and gardens! Our judges were VERY impressed that we had such great drabbles from pre-schoolers and up, all of whom should definitely keep writing!

WINNER: "When I’m older", by June Legg (Age 3!)

When I'm older, I want to be a slug.

I’d live in a little slug house which are made of sticks and leaves and maybe other things.

I will eat all sorts of slug food like sticky leaves and yellow flowers and grass I suppose I’d eat it all day long.

And do you know what? When I’m a slug I will make lots of slime EVERYWHERE!

When I’m a slug, I won’t be able to talk, only make little ‘bu-bu-bu’ sounds with their little mouths. But I will use my slime to stick to things and climb and climb.

What the Judges said:

Who DOESN'T want to grow up to be a slug? A lovely piece of writing, with a strong first line and buckets of humour. And buckets of slime!

In the 12 - 16 year olds category .....

We had heroes facing a foe armed only with an orange(!), magical one-way doors, rhino clowns and sea serpents! Even a winning fairytales about fairytales! Lots and lots of drabbles, including a  bumper set of submissions from The Priory School, made the judging so difficult that we ended up with TWO joint winners!

JOINT WINNER:  "Serpent", by Beti (age 12), The Priory School

For as long as I can remember, I have loved animals. Even spiders. I knew that a monster lived in serpent bay and I was determined to meet it. There was just one thing stopping me. I was not allowed in the sea. Nobody was. They would get eaten. One day, I went down to the beach. I waited for hours, until finally,  the sea changed . it swirled and churned. An enormous head reared from the depths and stared at me with large, loving eyes. I knew it wouldn’t hurt me. It put its head back under the water. I just stayed there, staring. 

What the Judges said:

A wonderful depicted sea serpent! We kept worrying your character might enter the water and, large, loving eyes or not, were glad they didn't - it's much more sensible to watch (serpents) from the beach!

JOINT WINNER:  "The First Fairytale", by Jet (age 16)

Once upon a time there was a planet and no one knew why.

It existed only on the edge of consciousness because no one could fathom its magnitude into words.

So, they wrote stories that could fit between their teeth and under their tongues and in their minds.

They told each other that once upon a time there was a world inside a painted nutshell, a pea between the blankets of a gold brocaded bed, a witch who flew in a pestle and mortar.

Because these things were small and magical.

And that’s how life made them feel.

What the Judges said:

A fairytale about fairytales! And it's lovely, thought provoking writing, with wonderful imagery for such a short piece. Truly delightful. A lot of talent on display, here!

In the 17 years and older category .....

Our biggest crop of drabbles, for the biggest age group, making it fierce (fanged, clawed) competition for the winner.  Dragons and giants and mermaids rubbed shoulders with Polar bears and scarecrows, there's a secret hidden beneath Laura's Tower, (of course!) and the Coleham pumping station needs a little fantastical help. A glittering (gold, scales, teeth...) set of fantasy drabbles!

WINNER: "The Scarecrow", by Ian Joynes

‘Be off with you!’ bellowed the farmer, striding through the field with his shotgun, as rabbits and crows scattered in all directions.

‘And you’re a bloomin’ waste of time!’ he vented at the scarecrow.

But donned in his best bib and tucker, the strawman wasn’t his usual scruffy self today, displaying a red rosette on his lapel, ‘Best dressed scarecrow 2026.’

‘And if I dare catch you sneaking off to that Belle Vue Arts Festival’ again next year, there’ll be hell to pay!’ he snarled.

He stormed back inside, as the scarecrow calmly watched on, wearing the proudest of smiles.

What the Judges said:

A lovely nod (a tip of the straw hat?) to the BVAF Scarecrow trail from Ian, and we don't mind at all if he DOES put in an appearance next year! Definitely not a "bloomin’ waste of time", there's lots of fun in this winning drabble!

A big thanks to Laura at The Raven Book Shop in the Market Hall, for wrangling the winner's prizes, (including some "bloomin'" extras). Keep on drabblin'!