Biscuit Short Story Competition 2011

Tom Bryan was born in Canada in 1950. He is long resident in Scotland, and is a widely-published poet, fiction and non-fiction writer. His short stories have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies. He lives in Kelso in the Scottish Borders.

Tom Bryan is awarded First Prize for White Trash Polo, and he is offered publication of a book plus £500 plus 75 books, or a £1,500 cash award. Tom has taken the first option, and we look forward to publishing his collection of short stories in 2012.

L. F. Roth: Child care assistant, ward orderly, translator, university lecturer - a full CV would list some twenty occupations, a few held in England, the rest in Sweden. A writerly CV would have only two entries, both in the seriocomic vein: a short story in a 1985 anthology, Novella 85; a prize-winning children's book two years later.

L F Roth takes Second Prize for Cleaning Windows in the Dark and receives SEK 3102 - (approximately £300 in Swedish kronor).

Dublin-born James Lawless is the author of three novels, Peeling Oranges (2007), For Love of Anna (2009) and The Avenue (2010) and a study of modern poetry, Clearing the Tangled Wood: Poetry as a way of seeing the world. His latest novel Finding Penelope is due from Indigo Dreams in 2011.

James Lawless takes Third Prize and wins £150,00 (approximately €170).

This list is in no particular order of merit;
Runners-up are all Highly Commended.

When this competition was launched, we said we would give the runners-up £25. However, because the standards were so high we have doubled that figure, and each now receives £50.00. In addition, all of the 'Top Ten' authors will receive three copies of the winners' anthology showcasing not just their ten stories, but also the Top Twenty Poems from the Biscuit Poetry Challenge Competition.

Judy Walker lives in Northumberland. She won the UKA Opening Pages Award in 2007 for her children's novel Frankie ( published by UKA Press in 2008). Her short stories have been published in anthologies and magazines and broadcast on BBC Radio. Her drama work has been performed in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and London. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Newcastle University and is currently working on a novel set in Northern Ireland.

Steve Wade was a PEN /O'Henry Award Nominee in 2011. His fiction has been published in magazines and anthologies such as First Edition, Crannog, Leaf Books, College Green, Pearl Magazine, New Fables, the Aesthetica Creative Works Annual, and Fjords art and literary review. His novel On Hikers' Hill won First Prize in the abook2read.com Manuscript Competition, with the British lyricist Sir Tim Rice heading the judging panel. Awarded Second Prize in the Biscuit International Short Story Competition 2008, he received a nomination for New Irish Writer in the Hennessy Literary Awards 2008.

Steve Wade's website.

Retirement from Social Work has given Betty Weiner time to focus on writing. Her short stories have appeared in small-press anthologies, on the net and been read on BBC radio. Two full-length plays were runners-up in national play-writing competitions.

Colin Watts was born in Staines to the sound of doodlebugs overshooting London . Married with grown up children, he lives in Liverpool and works part-time for the Adult Learning Service.

Deirdre Shanahan has published short stories in the USA, Ireland and the UK including The Massachusetts Review, The Southern Review and Iowa Woman. Her work has also been published in New Writing from Vintage, Well Sorted, from Serpent`s Tail and The Phoenix Book of Irish Short Stories. She has been awarded a grant from Arts Council England to work on a novel.

Bruce Harris has worked in teaching and educational research, publishing articles and research reports and directing the charity Exam Aid. After moving to Devon, he began writing short fiction in 2007; in May 2011, he placed on his website a collection, Winning Posts, Volume 1, of stories which have been at least 'Commended' in competitions. His short fiction and poetry has been extensively published nationally and internationally.

Pat Jackson-Colando is a speech-language pathologist, public speaker, and writer. Her words been published in professional journals, newsletters, and anthologies of short stories. She has received numerous awards for community service and enjoys writing while her husband watches sports on tv.