100-Word Story 2017 Winners

First Story and Vintage are delighted to announce the winner of the 2017-18 First Story 100-Word Story Competition.

Armed with only 100 words, First Story students have come up with some stunning entries for our 100 Word Competition and we are now delighted to announce the winners!

The judges at Vintage Publishing were hugely impressed with the inventiveness and imagination of all entries, and after a long deliberation process we are excited to announce the overall winner and the runner up for 2018.

Huge congratulations to our overall winner Rebecca Obadina-Adebowale from Platanos College for her mysterious and intriguing short story, and to overall runner up Nicole Fontes from Nottingham Academy, Ransom Road for her lyrical story which captures the passing of time and human emotion. An honourable mention goes to Sophia Crysanthou from Chelsea Academy.

Rebecca, Nicole and Sophia will all receive a pile of prize books from Vintage and will have their 100-word stories printed on postcards.

In addition, the best entries from each school that entered the competition will also be printed on postcards and will each receive two prize books, you can see the full list of School Winners on our Competitions page.  As ever, we are very grateful to Vintage for supporting the competition and providing the prizes.

Overall Winner
‘Untitled’, Rebecca Obadina-Adebowale, Platanos College

You know the forbidden alley way that lies dauntingly between the launderette and the hotel, the one that your parents told you never to go to, the one that links to the pub and the train station? And you remember the way you’d start running once you’d passed the hotel due to the many stories the kids in the neighbourhood made up about the 24 lady? Ironic isn’t it? It’s shocking how much one half of the same street could differ from the other. One half held the houses and the fish and chip shop, and the hotel and the other was consumed by the derelict flats and the scruffy corner shops. And the deeper you’d walk into the street the stranger things got.

Runner up
‘Roots’, Nicole Fontes, Nottingham Academy, Ransom Road

I am just like a tree.
 I have long, girthy roots.
 Some come from the south,
 Some come from the west.
 Every leaf is a moment,
 Many have gone, many are now, what’s to be?

 My tree is constant yet always shifting.

 I sway from year to year
 Just like the leaves in the wind.
 When I’m angry they’re sometimes singed.
 When I’m happy the tree is in full bloom.
 When sad, you’ll see me by myself
 On the mountain, accompanied by the moon.

Honourable Mention
‘Untitled’, Sophia Crysanthou, Chelsea Academy

The only hands that wind me up are hers. She listened to my soft, simple melodies, and in turn, I listened to hers. She gave me hope. My ballerina pirouettes for her, and I’m always open. It isn’t like that anymore. An imposter with a tail, shedding fur and a habit of smearing mud everywhere consumes her thoughts. Collecting dust is the worst torture anyone can imagine. Apart from your only soul mate turning your back on you without so much as a glance. My lid starts to close. My last thought is love gone by. Time to fall.