Ghosts, Pancakes, Funerals, Sea Creatures and Love Affairs

Flash Fiction finalists and winner announced on theme of 'secrets'

Fortune-telling, murder, love affairs, roaming ghosts, a wily bird, authors, organ donations, photographs, even tattoos and silver earrings - such were some of the topics in stories submitted for our Wild Atlantic Writing Awards (WAWA) on the theme of ‘secrets.’

Wanna know a secret?

Some stories were filled with angst, others with surprise and still others with intriguing drama and poignancy. There was also an abundance of humor, black though some of it may have been.

Characters from all areas of life featured in stories including a fortune teller, a child, a blackmailer, an abusive parent or partner, a prostitute and an arsonist.

Location of stories also varied greatly, from a graveyard to a harbor office, from a school principal’s room to a doctor’s clinic, from a tent to a hospital ward. Even a bus stop, a bedroom, a bathroom and a pub.

Subjects ranged from uncovering one’s real parents to neurodivergency, religion, infertility, magic, adoption and cannibalism.

Secret doors often lead to strange and wondrous places.

As always, with such a rich harvest of excellent stories entered, choosing ten finalists in this category (finalists and winner in the creative nonfiction category will be announced soon) was a mighty challenge, with judges’ opinions rocking back and forth after long discussions.

In the end, a decision had to be made. In saying that, we at ‘Ireland Writing Retreat’ want to thank and congratulate everyone who submitted a story. Entering competitions like ours is by far one of the best ways to help improve one’s writing. 

Of course, you are always warmly welcome to join one of our writing retreats next year, where we delve deeper into the challenges of writing, both short and long fiction, as well as memoirs and other forms of creative nonfiction. And enjoy some fascinating cultural trips and experiences.

Be aware that we are also offering a special opportunity for writers in the WAWA competition to have their story (or stories) edited by a published author, plus receive helpful guidance notes, the aim being to strengthen stories for entry in other competitions. Usually the cost of this service is 79 euro but a special one-off discount is now being offered for a limited time, reducing the cost by almost half, to 49 euro.

Send an email to irelandwritingretreat@gmail.com with the subject 'Review of my flash fiction story'

Remember, your entry today could be a winner tomorrow.

So here is the decision of the competition judges.

Finalists for the Flash Fiction Category of WAWA on the theme of 'Secrets' are:

Aoibheann Kinsella with ‘Doubt,’ Brenda Letson with ‘At The Harbour,’ Candice Lucey with ‘Door Number Three,’ Dara Griffin with ‘How To Make Pancakes,’ Deryn Pittar with ‘Sparing The Details,’ Elaine Banfield with ‘After The Funeral,’ Laura Ruth Loomis with ‘Souvenir Postcard,’ Lorcan Fidgeon with ‘Deposits,’ Mary Krakow with ‘Darya’s Sea Life’ and Patricia Wall with ‘Writing Material.’

And the Winner of the Flash Fiction Category of WAWA on the theme of 'Secrets' is:

Patricia Wall with ‘Writing Material.’

Good news is that the winner will receive 500 euro in cash or a voucher worth 1,000 euro redeemable towards any one of our retreats of their choice next year. 

We are also delighted to announce that all the other finalists will receive a 10% discount, amounting to 265 euro, for any of our international writing retreats in 2026, as long as they finalise their registration no later than December 31st this year.