Blandford Rotary Club’s annual Short Story competition in its sixth year took a very different form when it was forced to go ‘virtual’, without the usual finals night and presentation evening at which shortlisted authors are invited to present their stories before the judging panel and public.

The club has now thanked everyone who entered this year and congratulated the prize winners for their excellent submissions.

In the Flash Fiction category the winner was Adrianne Howell, a member of the PennyWriters of Mere, with Express Attraction: in the Short Story category Lesley A Wyles who lives in Bridport, and is a member of Bridport Story Traders, with Celebration Cakes and in the under 18s Eve Alice Clark with When the Ships Came.
David Bamber of Dorchester won the Poetry competition for the second time with The Wintering Swans, having won last year with The Lane to Waddock. A Rotary spokesperson said that as always it was a tough choice as the standards are always high – especially this year when they had a record number of entries, including 14 shortlisted in the Poetry category, seven in the Open Category and six in Flash Fiction.

Prize money totalled £560, and the sponsors were Lesley Shand Funeral Service (poetry) and Blandford Forum Town Council (open prose). Further information and a full list of winners, together with some of their entries, can be found on the Blandford Rotary Short Story & Poetry Competition 2020 Facebook page.

Flash Fiction winner Adrienne Howell

Short Story winner Lesley A Wyles

Poetry winner David Bamber

Under 18s winner Eve Alice Clark