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Short Story Competition 2023

We are proud to present the finalists for the u3a short story competition 2023. These top 13 entries were chosen from over 400 entries. 

We are delighted to announce the overall winner as Laurene Henderson from Swaffham & District u3a in the East of England with her story 'See Emily Play'. Joint second place goes to Lynne Patrick of Witney u3a with 'Moving On', and Jane Guinery of Malvern u3a with 'Colours in the Fog'.

All 13 of our finalists receive a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, edited by Alysoun Owen and published by Bloomsbury. 

Read the top three stories: 

a black and white photo of jimi hendrix playing guitar on stage

See Emily Play

by Laurene Henderson, Swaffham & District u3a

East of England

a zoom in of a grandfather clock clock face

Moving On

by Lynne Patrick, Witney u3a 

South East

multicoloured page of paint colour tests with paintbrush and pot of pens

Colours in the Fog

by Jane Guinery, Malvern u3a 

West Midlands 

Read the stories from the other finalists, in no particular order:

small white plane flying in blue sky

Brotherly Love

by Gary Swain, Arnold u3a 

East Midlands 

a zoomed in photo of some overgrown grass

One Man Didn’t Mow, Didn’t Mow His Garden

by Jocelyn Wishart, Fairford u3a

South West

a set of traffic lights with the red light showing

Taken for a Ride

by David Coss, Liverpool u3a

North West

zoomed in photo of purple knitted fabric

u3a - the place to meet...

by Noelle Bryant, Cardiff u3a

Wales

a 1930s looking small tv screen with gold controls below

Decisions

by Ian Durant, St Neots u3a

East of England 

a blue graphic of a robot hand reaching out

The Turing Test

by Chris Adie, Oban u3a 

Scotland 

a brown worn out wallet showing a few cards in the card slots

Temptation

by Patricia O'Brien, Edinburgh u3a

Scotland

a crystal goblet with a clear drink in

Crystal Clear

by Catherine Simpson, Market Drayton u3a 

West Midlands 

a half closed laptop with lit up screen and keyboard

The Trap

by Simon Lockley, Scarborough u3a 

Yorkshire and the Humber

houses with valleys in the background

The House

by Caralinda Jeffries, Swansea u3a

Wales

Thank you so much to all 39 judges who undertook the mammoth task of judging so many entries this year. The competition could not run without you!

Thank you also to the final four judges who judged the shortlist, Marcia Humphries, Chris Winner, Hilary Jones and Alysoun Owen.  

And finally thank you to all entrants to the u3a national short story competition 2023. We hope you enter again next time.

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