The MEGASAGA 3 writing competition has reached its conclusion, and the WINNER will be awarded £100 in shiny British Currency!

Interestingly, there were many comments on the website supporting our decision. As I said, the decision was based not on votes, but on our judgement as writers and readers. Ultimately the judging panel was extended from 3 people to 7, as we were terribly split between two of the stories. Our meeting last night was full of contention! But we have made friends now, and after it came down to the casting vote, cocktails were dispensed. Virtually, of course.

I would most sincerely like to thank the two Peters, Zara, Zelda, Caroline, Anna and Steve for their help in reading through, analysing and judging the entries.

I would also most sincerely like to thank ALL ENTRANTS for your hard work and brilliance in creating exciting, amusing and frightening Megasagas. Proof that the form is alive, well and thriving as a marvellous exercise in writing and editing.

BY THE WAY one of the stories in the Shortlist was by me. Any idea which one? Don’t worry, it hasn’t won!

BEFORE I MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT:

The judges, while they admired all the shortlisted stories, found themselves split and divided between two of them: Beulah Harris‘ ‘MEGASAGA’ and Jacqui Huxham’s ‘Love in the Time of Corona’.

Beulah’s story is that rare beast – the perfectly constructed, beautifully paced, intriguing tale which lulls one into near somnolence for the first few paragraphs and then delivers a sharp, cynical totally unexpected kick into one’s fundament with the last sentence. Each word and phrase is carefully chosen, and while I had my doubts about ‘…John Lennon singing the most beautiful song ever written’ it was pointed out to me that because we immediately think ‘Imagine’ – the titles and lyrics have an immensely poignant relevance to the plot and atmosphere. (Or ‘Yesterday’? Written by McCartney…)

My (and other pedants’) very slight unease comes in the last sentence, which is so important to the resolution. The last sentence in a Megasaga is the payoff which makes the whole story worth reading.

People will be screaming at me from thousands of miles away when I say this: ‘When the ambulance came to collect her husband’s corpse in the morning, life would be perfect.’ Well, life would be perfect and the story would be perfect had there not been a tiny jumble of tenses in that sentence. The smallest change would make the story 100% as opposed to 99.9%. Beulah, try ‘When the ambulance comes to collect her husband’s corpse in the morning her life will be perfect’??? It’s a sudden change to future tense and I’ll bet you agonised over it. The whole story is in past tense, so how to give that last line the punch it needs? I often have this problem. One of my biggest faults as a writer is to jumble my tenses. Very difficult, this one. Still, the story would have won anyway, and in the end only one vote swung the outcome. Which makes you the proud runner-up.

AND THE WINNER IS –

Jacqui Huxham’s ‘Love in the Time of Corona’.

BECAUSE: Each and every one of the Judging Panel had the same visceral, emotional response to this story. When I tried to read it out to them, my eyes teared up – even after several readings! This terrible Corona Crisis has resulted in so many people losing loved ones. We know how it feels to lose a lover, a brother, a parent….I held the hand of a dying woman, a beloved Aunt a couple of years ago. (If you read Sally’s Road you’ll have an idea as to how I attempted a revenge against Cancer). It has scarred me and I suppose may have influenced me to some small extent.

Others, however, had precisely the same reaction.

But I think what has finally decided the result is the innovative structure and poetic language of the story. It reads like a song, a duet. It is so very different from the others and while they are all excellent, it shows how fluid and flexible the Megasaga form can be. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

RE=READ the stories (use the link above). YOU ALL DESERVED PRIZES. But I can only award one.

CONGRATULATIONS JACQUI I will email you regarding how your prize can be sent.

JACQUI HUXHAM

Jacqui’s autobiography :

Born and raised in Zambia,  I came to South Africa for university.  I have taught English, History and French for the last 30 odd years and some 15 years ago I fled the rat race to live in a small village in the Southern Drakensberg near the Lesotho border.

I am currently the Principal of a small school catering to the local community  and this is my passion. Many of our children are Aids orphans from the local children’s home and many come from very disadvantaged backgrounds.  We give them hope and a future. Our matric pass rate every year is 100%.

I  am married with 3 children and 3 step children , all grown up and living far away. I have never published anything. My writing is for myself , usually written in those small dark hours , and this is the first time I have ever shared it. I was assailed with fear and vulnerability after submitting my stories .

Jacqui your stories are terrific. You had two in the Finals, which is pretty amazing. So to you and all my wonderful writers and readers in South Africa and the world:

Keep writing! The more you write, the more you edit, the more you read, the more you are self-critical (without being overly so – be forgiving) the better you will get! Enter competitions but it’s not about competitions. It’s about the CRAFT. You are magicians. You create and describe worlds, real and unreal. Your characters are given life, and you owe them a living! (Please read all my hints and tips on plot, character, etc on the website under Blog and Short Stories.).

(Read my books. Please. So I can afford another competition! 😉 There will be a new one soon. Soon.)

And never forget, I love you all.