Paul Dawson is this year’s short story competition winner with his eclectic short story Rosebud. Paul has been writing poetry and stories since he was young. Recently his reading and writing habits have been leaning towards a more literary style. He likes the idea of a story being more than just entertainment, and his interest in philosophy and classical works has broadened his outlook on what a story can be. He has had his work published in Under the Bed, Beyond Imagination and several other smaller independent magazines, including being on the shortlist for the Broken Worlds anthology released by Almond Press last year. He is currently working hard on a dystopian novel about a walled city shut off from the rest of the world, and of course nothing can keep him from writing short stories. At any one time he finds himself juggling many stories in his head, and is excited by the challenge of getting them out into the world. Emma Petfield: When did you first begin writing, and why? Paul Dawson: I was in English class in my first year of high school and we had to write a poem. I can’t remember now what the poem was about, but I felt a sense that the words and rhyme came quite easily to me, and I realised that even though I was young, I had a lot to say about the world around me, and poetry was the first medium through which I could express that. Thinking back now, I guess that was when I first found a way to channel something that was always inside of me, but I never knew how to release it before. It was at first a place to explore my own feelings, and then more recently it’s become a part of my own identity and an important part… read more →
Thomas Brown is the winner of this year’s short story competition. With the pending release of the anthology, which is themed around Dystopian Worlds, it seemed like a great idea to ask Thomas some questions about his writing career. Thomas is the author of a book called ‘Lynnwood’ and has some extremely interesting insights into the world of horror and the themes that draw him to the genre. His answers to the questions are a truly inspiring read for any aspiring writer. Be sure to check out his work! “A quintessentially British folk horror chiller [LYNNWOOD], with an escalating power of dread that is rendered deftly. A new voice in British horror, that you’ll want to read, has entered the field.” – ADAM NEVILL, author of THE RITUAL “Although [LYNNWOOD] is described as a horror, I would say that it is not entirely typical of this genre. […] The story is strange, dark and unsettling, but very beautifully crafted.” – READER, The People’s Book Prize “The author’s writing was very poetic and gave nothing away. [LYNNWOOD] is the type of book to read curled up in front of a fire, just don’t be alone…” – KATHLEEN KELLY, CelticLady’s Reviews Christina Crook: When and why did you start writing? Thomas Brown: I’m sure I started writing off the back of my love for books. From an early age I was passionate about reading, so it seems natural that this passion might have led to me writing stories of my own. I still have the original copy of my first ever short story in a drawer under my bed. I must have been twelve or thirteen, and it was dark fantasy fiction about a vampire. I read a lot of fantasy then, so I suppose that purports the link between reading and the… read more →