100-word-story competition 2022: The winners!

We’ve been delighted by the huge response to our 100-word-story competition. The entries have flooded in thick and fast during the past few months, but while we’ve enjoyed reading every story, only a few can come out on top! You, our readers, voted to whittle the shortlist down to the ultimate winners, whose stories can be read in this article, alongside comments from our judges and the winners themselves.

"What She Would Rather Tell a Stranger" 

By Rachel O'Cleary, Tipperary

My mother's bare foot rests in my lap, softer than expected, toenails thick. My knuckles complain as I squeeze the clippers. "Call Me Lily," she says, and I think, what else? I paint her toenails Big Apple Red while she talks about her estranged daughter, gone to the city years ago. "That girl was always an odd one," she says. "I'll bet she leaves me here to rot." I stare at the deep furrows between her eyebrows. See myself: hard-pedaling, smoke unspooling, highway breeze through messy hair, whisky-burnt, split by childbirth, circling, circling home. I hold my breath, and wait. 

"Write Club" 

By Katherine Bebo, Dorset  

The first rule of Write Club is: You do not talk about Write Club. The second rule… you know the rest. We are guerrilla grammarians, changing the world one semicolon at a time. Under the cover of darkness, we correct the inexcusable: misplaced apostrophes (*shudder*), misspellings and other travesties—then meet to share our victories. A knock. We freeze. The figure enters, then asks: “What’s the difference between a cat and a comma?” A tense silence. “One has claws at the end of its paws, and one is a pause at the end of a clause.” I nod. “You’re in.” 

"Behind the Filter of a Mother"

By Sian Shaw, Coventry   

"Smile, smile at Mummy." My baby wriggles, kicks and fusses, his skin is irritating him. Neither of us have slept for weeks and none of the creams are helping. His eyes meet mine and his smile melts away my tiredness for a split second. I upload the picture to my social media, add a filter to smooth out his skin and remove the heavy bags from under eyes. In the caption I type "Good morning" and I post. Within minutes my phone starts pinging with likes and comments: "what a happy baby" "so cute" "looking fresh mama". The crying continues. 

The judges said:

"We loved the visual vividness of this story and it’s huge emotional pull. In a few brief words, Rachel draws us into the stories of two lifetimes. In the spaces between her words the reader imagines those lives diverging, circiling and finally coming together in this moment of held breath. Our chests tightened as we read it and the tears started to form too. A really powerful piece of writing."

Rachel said:

"Writing a 100-word story is so challenging! Like many writers, I find it difficult to make something resonate with so few words. In this case, I had actually written a longer piece of flash fiction and edited it down, so I know what happened in those intervening years she thinks about, and I believe that is what really made the story come alive. 

I was beyond thrilled to find out I had won and I'm looking forward to seeing my story published in Reader's Digest. Younger me, who dreamed of being an author, would never have believed this."

"No Privilege" 

By Ameerah Kola-Olukotun, 17  

“But I’ve got no privilege,” she protests. I stare at her shoes, bought by grandparents leeching off colonial fortunes. Her hair lies flat and presentable; my curls violate policy in any style. Her canvas-coloured skin will never raise questions. Mine is a brown cage that closes every door. But I hold my tongue. The others explain, but her whiteness turns to cotton and lodges itself in her ears. Her parents just worked harder. She’s just studious. “Blame me if you want.” She doesn’t see the landmines lurking in our paths. And if she did, she’d think she had them, too. 

"A Living Monument to Us" 

By Alice Wentzell, 16  

That weeping willow was my place only; a leafy cocoon, until I shared it with you. You were a peculiar boy with oceans in your eyes. When I turned sixteen you were waiting for me there, with darker gold hair and a deeper voice, but I recognised you from how you said my name; the name of the tree. I asked you to come back to see me again. I’m old and frail now and sometimes I still wait for you under that willow tree. There’s a bench for us to sit on now. It says your name on it. 

"A Girl by the Sea" 

By Noah Bradley, 13 

There once was a girl who sat on a lonely, solitary, grey rock by the sea. She longed for the sky and the ocean to meet but they never did. They were separated from each other, and the only time they neared one another was at the end of the water, but as you got closer to the end, they were still parted. She wished they could just be in love. They were in love, but they would never truly hold the others' hand. It's quite a sad story, really. But in every story, there is always a silver lining. 

The judges said:

"This story was such an eloquent evocation of advantage and disadvantage and the blindness that comes with taking things for granted. We loved the way the writer captured centuries of injustices in physical detail and metaphor. There was also a wonderful structure to this story: a standoff, rising tension and resignation. So much was said and done in these 100 words."

Ameerah said:

"I am overjoyed that my story has been chosen as the winner and I am so grateful for everyone who voted for it! When I started writing, I had no concrete idea for my story—I only knew that I wanted to highlight injustice. Ultimately, I chose to write about the race-related privileges that are often invisible to those who benefit from them. I am so happy that my story has resonated with people and hope that it inspires them to fight against inequality whenever they notice it."

"Im-pen-ding Doom" 

By Evelyn Walters, 11 

My cap was pulled off today. I was indignant and embarrassed, more than I can say! Yet again I was gripped tightly around the middle and forced to do the mum’s tedious receipts. My murky blood seeps from my single vein on to the paper. I know I am dying. I can feel my impending death oozing out with my last reserves of liquid. I see, ironically, pens are listed on this stationery receipt. Imagine their hopeful faces! Vitally, I would warn them, “Life as a pen, though long, is full of monotonous and painful tasks. Don’t run out of………

"A Dog Called Enzo" 

By Lucy Vargas Soffer, 7  

One morning a dog called Enzo wanted to go on a countryside walk. His owner fastened his lead and they set off for a long walk. He spotted another dog and pulled on the lead. He pulled so hard that his head slipped through the collar and he was free. He ran and he ran. Meanwhile his owner was looking for him everywhere. She searched under the bushes, over the hills, and even went to his favourite butcher shop, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. When she got home feeling super sad, she found him waiting patiently on the doorstep. 

"The Night-Scuttlers" 

By Isobel Black, 10 

In the abyssal inky blackness of the night, the Night-Scuttlers crawl and squirm in the shadows of your pitch-black bedroom. PITTER PATTER… The feet of the hard-armoured goliath beetles and scuttling titan beetles stretch and creak as the insect’s eyes boil with hate and let out low groaning, grumbling murmurs as they creep threateningly along the walls and floor, multiplying rapidly; uncontrollably. The Tarantulas and Brown-violin-spiders cascade out of your cupboard ominously followed by deadly Wolf-spiders and Jumpsman-spiders. In the hollow silence of an ordinary night, the Night-Scuttlers writhe and worm along until they reach their sleeping, unsuspecting victim. YOU. 

The judges said:

"We loved the lively style and wit of this story and it appealed to the writers in us. There’s wonderful movement in the writing. The whole piece is brilliant metaphor for writing with a pen and a wonderful paean too. Evelyn’s writing was so full of life. Perhaps she will breath new life into the humble ink pen too!"

Read more: 100-word-story winners 2018

Read more: Victoria Hislop: Books that changed my life

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