Late in 2012 the Reader’s Digest ran a worldwide
competition. This included New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, Asia, and
South Africa, with first prize in each country $1,000, with two runner-up
prizes of $250. The competition was a simple one – readers were invited
to write a 100 word story, with the only criteria being…
- The entry being received by Reader’s Digest by the
end of November 2012.
- All submissions were original. (ie. not
previously published).
- Entries have to be exactly 100 words long.
The April edition of the Reader’s Digest had the
New Zealand, Australian, Asia, and South African winners stories published.
(Additionally, the two respective runners-up for each country were
included). Out of the 12 published stories, I rated Ahmad Mahmood's story (on page 43) 'excellent', with Kathleen Yu's story (on page 45) the only other one worthy of being
published. My submission (made on 29 November 2012), is below in its
original form. It is exactly 100 words. For the record, I think my effort is better than the one's in the magazine, and I welcome feedback...
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Waving frantically, the castaway on the otherwise deserted beach
looked in hope towards the approaching yacht. Emaciated, filthy, and with
shoulder length hair he awaited the long forgotten experience of human contact.
Friendly voices followed the captain's wave. His wife and
two small children jumped into the water to swim to the castaway.
"What a perfect family", he thought.
The wife stood up at the shoreline and looked astonished.
"I thought you dead”, she said. "And I you".
It was a quiet and uncomfortable trip back to the mainland.
The castaway, the captain, and the woman married to them both.
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