THE winner of the second annual Farnham short story competition has been announced in a presentation ceremony at the Conservative Club in Ivy Lane.

After much deliberation by judges, Julie Evans took the top prize for her story First Light, while Katrina Dennison’s The Walk and Jacky Power’s Memory Lane were named runners-up.

This year’s contest was again run by Farnham-based amateur writing group The Fellowship of the Pen, supported by the Herald.

Almost 70 amateur writers submitted original stories of up to 1,000 words between September 6 and November 6 – ten more than the inaugural contest in 2017.

These were whittled down, anonymously, by two experienced writers from The Fellowship of the Pen – with Nicola Payne and Catherine House joining Julie Evans, Katrina Dennison and Jacky Power on the all-woman short-list.

The vast majority of entries, almost 90 per cent, came from the local area, with many commenting they heard about the competition via the Herald.

All five short-listed authors were local, and were invited to read their stories at the prize-giving in December – after which, Julie Evans, whose story is printed in full on the right, was announced as the winner and presented with an engraved glass trophy.

Each of the short-listed authors were also presented with certificates, and the ceremony also offered the chance to meet fellow writers and talk to judges.

Derek Keen, chairman of the Fellowship of the Pen, thanked all those who entered this year’s competition, adding the high quality of entries “shows there are a lot of talented writers in the area”.

He continued: “The standard of the shortlisted stories was very high and it was difficult for the judges to pick a winner. First Light was a complex story that led the reader in slowly and revealed little details that implied, rather than told, what was going on.

“A dual-viewpoint story is difficult to write but the judges felt it flowed beautifully and as the story unfolded they were there and could see and sense each scene. They were also impressed by the amount of content the author covered in just 1,000 words.

“The wonderful descriptions, the pathos and the characterisation were excellently shown and the ending was superb.”

Mr Keen added he “can’t wait until next year to do it all over again”, with the 2019 Farnham short story competition expected to be launched in August.