The final results of the 2021 National Flash Fiction Day Novella-in-Flash are in!
Our winner receives £300 in prize money and single-author publication. Second place receives £100, and £50 goes to third place. The winning novella-in-flash will be published as part of the NFFD celebrations in 2022.
An enormous thank you to our judge, Sophie van Llewyn for reading our short-listed entries. You can see Sophie’s full report on our winners below.
Congratulations to all our winners!
FIRST PRIZE
Sybilla – Joanna Campbell
SECOND PRIZE
Let the Demons Tiptoe – Jeanette Lowe
THIRD PRIZE
The Lives of Tita – Melissa Llanes Brownlee
Judge's Report
Sophie van Llewyn
I want to thank first Stephanie Carty and Jeanette Sheppard for all their hard work in reading the entries and selecting the longlist and shortlist. I was thrilled and surprised to see so many different approaches to the form. I’m always in awe how it keeps growing and changing. So without further ado, here are my top three favourites:
First Place -- Sybilla
A wall, a city divided, lives impacted in so many different ways. This novella-in-flash is a little gem. While the story focuses primarily on Felix, the owner of a bookshop that sells reconditioned books, and Lara, his employee, we also see how the wall impacts the lives of so many people. Underneath the seamless storytelling, I could truly see the rigorous editing – while the story moves forward at a great pace, everything is tight, and pulled together. Not a single secondary character is superfluous. And I do love a good love story!
Second place -- Let the Demons Tiptoe
This novella-in-flash charts the struggles of a family after one of their members dies. Beautifully written, I was swept off my feet by characterisation. The author draws three portraits of those left behind – sister, mother, and father. These people feel so alive in the different ways they cope with loss, and it’s so touching to see them moving together towards healing.
Third place -- The Lives of Tita
In this novella-in-flash set in Hawaii, I felt that the landscape was a character in itself. Lore and legend are woven in with beautiful writing. The child POV in some of the flashes is so candid, so well done. I found myself in lots of the elements – what child doesn’t love swinging on a swing, a relative’s game console, and isn’t afraid of monsters?