S H O RT S TO R I E S F R O M T H E G LO B A L C LA S S R O O M |
2014
AU T H O R’ S T H O U G H T S
S A LLY N I C H O LL S
Congratulations to all the writers of the shortlisted stories. What dark and twisted
imaginations you all have! I love it.
When people say ‘Gothic’, they tend to think Victorian maidens, haunted mansions, and
possibly a side-order of Dracula. But these young writers have proven that Gothic stories
can take place in any place and time. We have orphanages, graveyards and mysterious
abandoned houses, but we also have modern young people living ordinary lives which are
touched by the supernatural.
All of these stories are wonderfully suspenseful. Several also managed to surprise me,
which is brilliant. A twist should be grounded in the story which has gone before, but not
be predictable, and my favourite stories all managed to pull this off.
One of the things beginner writers often struggle with when writing a short story is finding a plot that’s the right
size for their word limit. Sometimes the simplest stories are the most effective, and that’s something all of the
authors in this collection are well aware of. Gothic stories don’t have to be graphic, gratuitous or even particularly
violent. One of the classics of Gothic literature, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is set entirely in
a single room. It takes a powerful writer to make wallpaper frightening, but Perkins Gilman manages it. Could you?
My two highly commended stories are ‘The Painted Lady’ by Amy Wei and ‘The Bird on the Perch’ by Freya
MacKenzie and my winner is ‘Depths’ by Ben Brown. Congratulations!
As for the rest of you, I’m just relieved that I don’t live in any of your stories. That there’s nothing supernatural to be
scared of in this world. Right? I mean, that is right, isn’t it? ... Isn’t it?
Sally Nicholls
Sally Nicholls is an award-winning author whose first novel Ways to Live Together, written while she was at
university, has also been made into a feature film. Her latest book is Close Your Pretty Eyes, featuring eleven-year-old
Olivia Brown, who has been in care since she was five and is convinced her latest placement is haunted.
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