Honours to writers from Australia and England in September Global Short Story Competition . Two NZ writers short-listed.

Judge Fiona Cooper has selected her winners for the September Global Short Story Competition and writers from Australia and England have taken the honours.

The £100 first place prize goes to Ruth Purdie-Smith, of Sydney, Australia, for Mother Nature of which Fiona says: “What a superb story! Our relationships with our mothers are always complex, particularly when the mother figure grows older and we grow older and start to see the many layers of someone who has always been a parent. The writer explores this fearlessly and manages to paint that fuller picture with fleeting references to childhood, both her’s and her mother’s. A strand of real love emerges from this complexity, and makes this story come alive in a completely compelling way.”

Our highly commended runner up is Yara Rodrigues Fowler, of London, England, who wins £25 for The Story of Maddy Appletree, of which Fiona says: “This story has an admirable structure and an economy of style which completely suits the content. Death is an inevitable event which brings so many emotions into play that there can never be a definitive book about how each individual deals with it. This story explores an intriguing set of reactions, and ultimately brings a satisfying new hope to life. Excellent!”

The writers on the shortlist are:

Alexander Altman, Auckland, New Zealand

Jeff Taylor, Auckland, New Zealand

Siddhant VP, New Delhi, India

Anita Goodfellow, Marlow, Berkshire, England

Winning stories will be posted on www.inscribemedia.co.uk Well done to our successful writers. You can enter the November competition at the same address.