Who won the £4000/$5000* prize?

Winners
(titles listed in order)

Please note: all the comments listed below are from our Booker Prizewinning judge, Damon Galgut. We thank him for taking the time to give feedback.  

1^st Prize: SUNDAY MORNINGS WITH THE HOUSEMAIDS OF COLABA by Amitha Rajan (SIN)

An excellent story, very well-constructed. I especially liked the “we” narration, which can easily be misjudged, but wasn’t in this case. I may of course be wrong, but it doesn’t feel ‘authentic’ in the sense that the writer is probably from a different background than the “we” described, but the sympathy of the narrator for Shalu and her situation are clear. Clever and touching and sweet.

2^nd Prize: EVA by Alan Sincic (USA)

The most ambitious story here, by virtue of its narrative, which tries to shape itself to the consciousness of its two protagonists. Not clear enough at the outset, so it takes a while for the situation to take definite shape.  Obviously a very talented writer is at work. I’ll be honest and say it was a serious contender for First Prize, but perhaps the story is too much inside the minds of the women, with too little external explication, for easy clarity. To put it differently, the density of the style is admirable but may be better suited to a longer form in which exposition is more gradual; with a short story, there is too much latitude for confusion. Nevertheless, a memorable, strong piece of work by a natural writer.

3^rd prize: ERIC LUCASTEES by Alan McCormick (IRE)

I really liked this whacky, unexpected story, especially its unusual and fluid narrative approach. Despite the flagrant disregard for punctuation, the imagination at work is really charming. It’s a push to believe that Eric Lucastees would be able to go off with Robert’s wife so casually and offhandedly, and that he would then fall back on Robert to help him when he is in trouble, but the eccentricity of the narrative voice made it seem credible.

Highly Commended: THE COUPLE by Michael Pettit (SA)

A well-handled, intelligent story, by a writer with a talent for description. Although a solid job is done of presenting the past histories of both Alan and Yolande, a sharper sense of their everyday characters is absent until the end; this probably comes from the lack of direct interaction between them till that point. As a result, I’m not entirely persuaded by the psychological role the dog plays in their marriage, perhaps because it’s not clear what is actually missing between them. Still, the arc of their emotional shift is nicely defined and deftly done. Definitely a contender for one of the three top prizes, but its ambitions were perhaps more modest than some of the other entries.

Shortlist (named, not in ranked order)

DREAMS OF WATER by Harry Dobbs (ENG)

An interesting piece, which plays in a satisfying way with setting off different moments in time against each other. Its ambitions are perhaps insufficiently realized: I’m not quite sure of the significance of Nina’s realization at the very end. The moment of the accident itself almost doesn’t register, because it’s not described. All in all, a good piece of work which could perhaps have been fuller: I suspect it could be a novella if given its full weight and worth.

OUR MUTUAL BONES by Sherry Cassells (CAN)

“An engaging, quirky story, by a writer with flair. I liked the way the story leaped about in time and place, but perhaps it did so too frequently, or with too little descriptive grounding, to let me know where I was all the time. The story would be more solid and less confusing if it unfolded a little more slowly and with more explanatory concessions to the reader. Nevertheless, I remained engaged, which was due to the narrative spark on display.”

WALTZ OF THE MAKKO ANTS by Conrad Walters (AUS)

An absorbing, unsettling story about a lethal clash between cultures. Because there is no such thing as a Makko Ant (or any “fist-sized ant”, for that matter) and some of the details about ant behaviour are not strictly accurate, I can only take this as a piece of speculative fiction. To that end, it would perhaps have helped to have a few clear markers in that direction. In any case, it works on its own terms, and has stayed with me since the initial reading.

NECTARINES by Alan Fyfe (AUS)

A good, solid story, pleasingly executed. Some lovely descriptions. I was drawn in by the unusual scenario – the building, the fall – with another rich memory present behind it. Skillfully handled, despite its tiny scope.

BUBU by Omar Musa (AUS)

I liked the intensity of this small, concentrated scenario that could play out in two ways. Deftly done, though it’s impossible for me to tell how authentic the cultural details are. A successfully rendered piece of work.

TORTLE MAN by HE Ross (ENG)

An intriguing and dramatic scenario, perhaps not fully realized. My attention was held by the situation and by the action involved, but I never quite believed the voice was coming out of the centre of the story. Some of the language and terminology sounded like somebody who is NOT a fisherman, though the details seemed plausibly done. All in all, a potentially fine story that could have done with more finessing. Small changes will make a big difference to the final effect.

Long List (named, not in ranked order)

Before Escaping to Canada by Dragana Lazici (ENG)

The Life I Don’t Consume by Julie Butterfield (USA)

The All-Canadians by Terry Watada (CAN)

The Divine Carousel by Charles Kitching (ENG)

Thorns by Dana Storino (USA)

Fight Day by Adam Roberts (ENG)

Under the Maphosa Sky by Thandizile Mpofu (ZIM)

The Mummy by Aniete Isong (ENG)

Hound 001 by Rosie Linder (USA)

The Encore by Anina Faul (FRA)

Congrats to the winners, the 10 writers on our shortlist, and all those who made it onto the long list. We hope the recognition of that credit will help you in your literary careers.

The Plaza Short Memoir Prize judged by literary agent and memoirist, James MacDonald Lockhart is OPEN to enter NOW. 1st prize: £1,000 / $1250. Deadline: 31st August, 2025. 

LEARN TIPS, HACKS, POINTERS, FROM OUR PUBLISHED WINNERS

Are you a short story writer? Are you entering your stories into literary competitions like The Plaza Prizes? Are you winning? Are you getting shortlisted or longlisted?

Do writers who win The Plaza Prizes do things differently? What do they do? How? Why? What critical errors are they avoiding?

We decided to put together a Teachable course to help entrants of The Plaza Prizes to improve their work and the likelihood of winning or placing on the short and long list.

6 of our winners contributed. 6 very talented, published writers, working on the cutting edge of World Literature. Conor Montague. Fiona Dignan. Todd Murphy. Sherry Cassells. Camilla Macpherson. Conor McAnally. They put together 7 cracking modules which challenge you to try 20 exercises that are designed to improve your work:

 

1. The Power of the Title
2. Opening Lines That Hook
3. Building Dynamic Characters
4. Using Setting as Character
5. Crafting Plot and Pacing
6. Writing Effective Dialogue
7. Crafting an Unforgettable Ending

 

You will get 2 FREE ebooks of The Plaza Prizes Anthology 1 & 2 as coursebooks to read and use for reference.

Up until 31st July 2025 you can get a massive $169.99 discount off the course by clicking on this link:

BUY FOR ONLY $30.00

HAVE FUN STUDYING. NEXT TIME IT COULD BE YOU WINNING.

OPEN FOR ENTRIES NOW: The Plaza Short Memoir Prize. Judge: James MacDonald Lockhart. 1st Prize: £1000 ($1250). Deadline: 31st August 2025. 

Who will win the £4000/$5000* prize?

Shortlist
(titles listed in no particular order)

Top 10

Bubu

Dreams of Water

Eva

Tortle Man

Our Mutual Bones

The Couple

Nectarines

Waltz of the Makko Ants

Eric Lucastees

Sunday Mornings With The Housemaids of Colaba

Congrats to the 10 writers on our shortlist. Check back next week for the winners.

Please note: we do not publish names until the judging process is fully complete. We’ll publish names with the final results, the winners, short-listed, long-listed. (We publish your name because you asked us to.)

The Plaza Audio Poetry Prize (judged by Anthony Joseph) is OPEN now to enter. 1st prize: £1,000 / $1250. Deadline: 31st May, 2025. 

Who will win the £4000/$5000* prize?

Long List
(titles listed in no particular order)

Top 20

Fight Day

Under the Maphisa Sky

The Mummy

Bubu

Dreams of Water

Eva

Tortle Man

Before Escaping to Canada…

The All-Canadians

Our Mutual Bones

Hound 001

The Couple

Nectarines

My Life I Don’t Consume

The Divine Carousel

Thorns

Waltz of the Makko Ants

Eric Lucastees

The Encore

Sunday Mornings With The Housemaids of Colaba

There were 312 entries (including FREE ENTRY bursaries).

Congrats to all those 20 writers on our long list. Check back next week for the shortlist.

Please note: we do not publish names until the judging process is fully complete. We’ll publish names with the final results, the winners, short-listed, long-listed. (We publish your name because you asked us to.)

The Plaza Audio Poetry Prize (judged by Anthony Joseph) is OPEN now to enter. 1st prize: £1,000 / $1250. Deadline: 31st May, 2025. 

Winners 
(titles listed in order)

Thanks to our judge, Nin Andrews. Nin is the author of the fifteen poetry collections including The Last Orgasm (2020), Miss August (2017), and Why God is a Woman (2015). She is the recipient of two Ohio individual artists grants, the Pearl Chapbook prize, The Wick Chapbook contest, and the Gerald Cable Award. Her poetry has been featured in numerous journals and anthologies including Ploughshares, Agni, The Paris Review, four editions of Best American Poetry, Great American Prose Poems from Poe to the Present, The Best of the Prose Poem, an International Journal, The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Poetry, and The Best American Erotic Poems.

To learn more about Nin go to: https://www.ninandrews.com/about

All the comments below are from her.

Top 4

1st prize: ‘The Cork Board’ by Jacqueline Day

“The Corkboard” is a lovely example of the object-prose that starts in the ordinary (the image of a board on which one pins mementos and reminders of a life one has lived) and moves to the extraordinary, posing existential questions of one’s identity. Like most great prose poems, it ends with the stunning last line/image of a tiny, pinned heart, still beating.

2nd prize: ‘Joan Collins Gets into a Locker’ by Matt Barnhard

“Joan Collins Gets into a Locker” is a pleasure to read from the title to the last line. Surreal, witty, imaginative, the poem does what all my favorite prose poems do—it opens and closes quickly, like the wings of a butterfly, leaving the reader in a state of delight.

3rd prize: ‘On Joining the Neighbourhood Watch’ by Ursula Kelly

“On Joining the Neighbourhood Watch” is an enjoyable cross between prose poetry and a lyric essay, describing the role of the observer in the world, and of the observer of the observer The eye for detail is what makes this prose poem shine.

4th prize: ‘Memory of a Hothouse’ by Lawrence O’Dwyer

“Memory of a Hothouse” is a surreal, brilliant prose poem that uses the extended metaphor of a hothouse to contemplate death and dying as well as the guilt one feels when one avoids visiting aging loved ones. And what a perfect metaphor it is! Reading it, I could almost smell the ripe scent of the dying. I felt overwhelming waves of guilt. Sensual, heavy, and with a hint of magical realism, the poem reminded me of the writings of Gabriel García Márquez.

 

Shortlist (with writers’ names)

‘5 ways to cook a red cabbage’ by Maria Woodford

‘The Magic of Lines’ by Diane Williams

‘Yellow Umbrellaism’ by June Wentland

‘Copperhead Worship Cults’ by Samuel Prince

‘Fish Fry With The Siegels’ by Judith Serin

‘Le Cessionaire’ by Samuel Prince

 

Long List

‘Mouse-woman’ by Ursula Kelly

‘Watch Me’ by Akinna Aqino

‘Fox Mother’ by Daisy Black

‘Runger’ by Anne Ryland

‘How to Lose Empathy’ by Christian Ward

‘Alice Loses Her Voice’ by Ursula Kelly

‘Plastered in Paris’ by Jacqueline Day

‘Compulsion’ by SK Grout

‘All-American Prose Poem’ by Adrian Potter

‘Maximum Occupancy’ by Anna Turner

 

Congrats to our winners, and very well done to all the prose poets on our shortlist. Your work will be published in The Plaza Prizes Anthology 3. For those who made the long list – we hope these credits will help build your literary reputations!

The Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines max) is OPEN now to enter. Judge: George Szirtes. 1st prize: £1,000 / $1250. Deadline: 31st May, 2025. 

Winners
Top 4

The detailed comments below are those of our judge, Barbara Black. Barbara has two collections published by Caitlin Press Inc. She was the winner of The Plaza Microfiction Prize in 2024. If you haven’t read her little fortified stories – they are excellent! You can find out more about her at: https://barbarablack.ca/

1st Prize: The Tell-tale Chirp Of An Olive Warbler by Alan Kennedy

This story has the kind of charged energy that keeps a reader reading. It’s a story told with economy and precision with an author’s talent for upping the ante in just the right places. Charming, grumpy, witty all at the same time. It’s not always easy to maintain a high level of comic intensity, but you have succeeded.

As the story builds, the narration is flooded with a stream of hostile phrases that, despite being hostile, are also funny: “Skull-drilling cacophony,” an “unearthly wail” amid a variety of expletives from the main character. Violent and hellish adverbs and adjectives drive the narrative and the comedy.

Against the seemingly bucolic back drop of a Moroccan setting of pine trees, bird song and aromas of thyme and rosemary, we have a ranting ornithologist, enraged by his thwarted bird identification assignment. Even the landscape seems to be against him what with humid heat pinning him against a tree, the constant drilling of cicadas and, my favourite, “assassin thorns.” Humour escalates with the introduction of the ornithologist’s nemesis: a hennaed “annoying, anonymous accordionist” playing nearby on the beach. Flash fiction loves incongruity. And assonance.

And then, the turn. Not required for every flash story but perfectly executed in this one: “Are you alright?” The understated plead from the hapless bird lover, — “…can you…?’’—and once again civility is restored. Well done.

2nd Prize: An Unexpected Beach by Mary Francis

This story has a beautiful mood that spills out from beginning to end. Contributing to this mood are skilfully described images that not only create the setting for the reader— “Where farmland stumbles upon the ocean and falls apart in surprise”—but do double duty as metaphors for the emotional state of the main character. Death is lurking in the subtext with “Outside nothing moved, nothing breathed” and “…the nightbirds were silent.” The insomniac main character is both literally and figuratively “in the dark.” Due to his reticence, we as readers not only have to pay attention to the landscape references, but also to descriptions of the man’s movements and gestures to understand his state of mind.

There’s space in this unspoken grief, and restraint in the writing. Time seems to stretch out. The unsaid occupies our mind. The power of omission. You’re very adept at creating this, building the tension by providing only fragments of events (for example, not stating outright Pete’s suicide).

It’s challenging to portray stasis in a story while at the same time advancing it. One of the ways you do this is by cleverly linking sensations such as the man’s feeling of the sea and the act of listening to his unborn child’s movements in the womb. Also, there are parallels. Right after mention of cows coming to milking is mention of his wife and kids (plural), and Pete “choosing the milking shed”, both key pieces of information.

The ending is as gentle and inconclusive as the opening, relying once again on a metaphor to convey an emotional state. No huge revelation, no dramatic turn. There’s nothing wrong with a soft ending that only hints at a tiny change. This is a story about the spaces in between.

3rd Prize: Understanding Your Medication: Unsuitable Boyfriend by Chris Cottom

Speaking about writing short fiction, author Rebecca Makkai said: “You throw out your little story like a grenade.” And this, you have done very well! It’s nice to see a flash fiction using a borrowed form and maximizing the possibilities.

With sharp wit and a clever imitation of medication instructions, you’ve written a roller coaster of a story from grenade blast-off to ignominious end. You’ve cleverly demonstrated that not every tale needs continuous sentences. A series of statements can build a narrative. With tactics such as repetition, sarcasm and varied sentence lengths—long, descriptive warnings and short stabs—you keep the reader highly engaged. Some great lines: “This medication can only be taken with alcohol” and “Unsuitable Boyfriend is used to relieve symptoms associated with being single.” The last statement of instructions is spot on and terminates the story perfectly!

Highly Commended: All Their Friends Thought They Were Fucking by Omar Musa

This is a touching story brimming with details. The artistry lies in your portrayal of the young couple’s enduring, deep and unconventional relationship as it grows from being platonic to something deeper (but not sexual). Later in their lives, when they share their darkest secrets, we’re privileged of this knowledge. Their friends, who only appear in the title and last sentence, are not, or choose to think otherwise.

I enjoyed your use of language with the rhythmic list of verbs “partied, fought, made up, traveled” and “wired it, tiled it, painted it…” Also, “like a throwback teenage sleepover.” The three mentions of the rose-patterned curtains seem to fly by, but upon rereading the “Ugly, rose-patterned curtains….of horrid nylon” sounds ominous, “the rose-pattered curtains fluttering above them” suggests something celestial, and the last mention of the curtains finally leads us to tragedy. There’s no coincidence that “They slept like angels” on the night of their death. We’d already had foreshadowing with “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” and “like it was the end of days.” As the story unfolds you set up many of these subtextual hints before the deathly fire.

The last section seems to abandon the story’s tone. “Neighbours huddled…wiping their eyes” lacks the more nuanced approach the story showed earlier. And the last sentence, which reads like a punchline, tears down the intimate structure that so tenderly drove the story. I wonder if you would consider leaving the ending open. By having the “friends” feel jointly triumphant after hearing the couple are dead you may have lost your readers. It might be a thought to simply leave off the last sentence or leave us with “lying next to each other like lovers.” The choices are up to you. Despite these points, the core of the story is meticulously crafted to lead us through a story of love with a tragic outcome.

SHORTLIST (with writers’ names)

Good enough by DX Lewis

Some of Us Won’t Notice the Berries by Hannah Retalick

Where to return a used husband by Jaye McKenzie

What Can I Tell You by Katalin Abrudan

Now I Have Become Meme by Heidi Kasa

Paved by Jay McKenzie

LONGLIST (with writers’ names)

Never Mock The Clown by Charles Kitching

Remembering Cairo by Rebecca Burton

There was an old woman by Deborah Thompson

Rail of Exes by Hannah Retalick

Moth by Sherry Cassells

Ticks by Joe Bedford

It’s Not The End Of The World by Jaime Gill

Pull Tab Night by Mark Connelly

Upgrade by Alex Talbot

Red, White and Blueland by Amy DeFlavis

Congrats to the 4 winners, the 10 writers on our shortlist, and the 10 who made the long list. We hope these credits help to build your literary reputations and get you published soon.

The Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines max) is OPEN now to enter. Judge: George Szirtes. 1st prize: £1,000 / $1250. Deadline: 31st May, 2025. 

AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE

Jaye Kranz is a poet, writer and documentary audio maker living on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia.

She is the recipient of an Emerging Writers Grant from the Australia Council for the Arts. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in: The Cincinnati Review, West Branch, Best of Australian Poems 2024, The Florida Review, Foglifter, The Marrow International Poetry Journal, Frozen Sea and Cordite Poetry Review.

Other writing has been published in The Monthly, Australian Book Review, short story collections and a compendium of four novellas (Picador, Vintage). Jaye was shortlisted for the 2024 Tom Collins Poetry Prize. Her award-winning sound-rich audio features have been commissioned for BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3, ABC RN, Arts Centre Melbourne, and the State Library of Victoria. She is writing her first collection of poems.

Find her at www.jayekranz.com

Next time it could be you. OPEN FOR ENTRIES NOW: The Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines max). Judge: Georges Szirtes. 1st Prize: £1000 ($1250). Deadline: 31st May 2025. 

Shortlist
(titles listed in no particular order)

Top 10

Good enough

An Unexpected Beach

Some of Us Won’t Notice the Berries

Understanding Your Medication: Unsuitable Boyfriend

The Tell-tale Chirp of an Olive Warbler

Where to return a used husband

All Their Friends Thought They Were Fucking

What Can I Tell You

Now I Have Become Meme

Paved

Congrats to the 10 writers on our shortlist. Check back next week for the winners.

Please note: we do not publish names until the judging process is fully complete. We’ll publish names with the final results, the winners, short-listed, long-listed. (We publish your name because you asked us to.)

The Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines max) is OPEN now to enter. Judge: George Szirtes. 1st prize: £1,000 / $1250. Deadline: 31st May, 2025. 

Shortlist
(titles listed in no particular order)

Top 10

‘On Joining the Neighbourhood Watch’

‘The Cork Board’

‘5 ways to cook a red cabbage’

‘The Magic of Lines’

‘Yellow Umbrellaism’

‘Joan Collins Gets into a Locker’

‘Copperhead Worship Cults’

‘Memory of a Hothouse’

‘Fish Fry With The Siegels’

‘Le Cessionaire’

Congrats to all the 10 poets on our shortlist. Check back next week for the winners.

Please note: we do not publish names until the judging process is fully complete. We’ll publish names with the final results, the winners, short-listed, long-listed. (We publish your name because you asked us to.)

The Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines max) is OPEN now to enter. Judge: George Szirtes. 1st prize: £1,000 / $1250. Deadline: 31st May, 2025. 

Long List
(titles listed in no particular order)

Top 20

Ticks

Moth

Good enough

An Unexpected Beach

Some of Us Won’t Notice the Berries

Rail of Exes

Understanding Your Medication: Unsuitable Boyfriend

There was an old woman

The Tell-tale Chirp of an Olive Warbler

Where to return a used husband

Paved

Remembering Cairo

All Their Friends Thought They Were Fucking

What Can I Tell You

Never Mock the Clown

Now I Have Become Meme

It’s Not the End of the World

Pull Tab Night

Upgrade

Red, White and Blueland

There were 115 entries, including FREE ENTRY bursaries.

Congrats to all those 20 writers on our long list. Check back next week for the shortlist.

Please note: we do not publish names until the judging process is fully complete. We’ll publish names with the final results, the winners, short-listed, long-listed. (We publish your name because you asked us to.)

The Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines max) is OPEN now to enter. Judge: George Szirtes. 1st prize: £1,000 / $1250. Deadline: 31st May, 2025.