… and available to buy, now!

In 2024, the Bournemouth Writing Festival held its first competition for flash fiction and poetry, on the theme, Lines in the Sand. We became involved because Dithering Chaps was given the honour of publishing the anthology of winning entries.

The vision for the competition was ambitious, especially for an untried event. Anyone, anywhere, over the age of 17, could send in flash fiction and poetry - and we received entries from some very far flung places. You may be surprised to know that an analysis of the eighty long-listed writers shows that only 17.5% of them came from Dorset!

The long list included entries from Ireland, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg, in addition to the rest of the UK. This geographical spread is also reflected in the final collection of winners, selected by our guest judges, Dr Natalie Scott and Charlotte Fodor, who are creative writing lecturers at Arts University Bournemouth.

You might have expected to find the anthology centres around stereotypical subjects, like postcards, carefree holidays and suntan lotion … instead, the chosen entries often plumb some darker, more profound undercurrents.

Entrants were encouraged to think outside the box, interpreting the theme through the lens of their own creativity, and they did not disappoint! Lines in the Sand was a simple writing prompt, to inspire flash fiction and poetry that would surprise and enchant our judges and readers.

As a result, the selected pieces showcase the writers’ imagination. You’ll find alternative experiences of the sea, the sand and the world in this stunning collection - and you’ll never look at a beach in the same way again.

Get your copy here!

We’d like to thank Dominic Wong, Festival Director, and everyone at the Bournemouth Writing Festival for giving us the opportunity to run the competition on their behalf.

Through it, we have met some wonderful people, encountered top class writing and had a ball.

We wanted to make this competition a positive and exciting experience for everyone involved and the feedback we have received suggests we achieved our aim. Your kind words have warmed our hearts.

Thank you to every single person who entered the competition. If you can, please come to the Bournemouth Writing Festival this year - we’d love to meet you, because we’ll be there!