Malaysian Short Story Writing Competition 2022 longlist announced

THE inaugural edition of the Malaysian Short Story Writing Competition 2022 which took place from April to July 31 this year has announced its longlist.

The competition was organised and sponsored by the University of Nottingham Malaysia. It drew great interest and an overwhelming response. A total of 174 stories were submitted for the competition, out of which 18 titles were selected for the longlist.

The judges for the competition were familiar names within the local literary scene such as Sharon Bakar, Saras Manickam, Shih-Li Kow and Terence Toh. They had read all 174 stories and finalised the winners of the competition.

The chair of the competition, Emeritus Professor Malachi Edwin Vethamani, said “this competition was organised with the purpose of providing an opportunity for writers to compete at the national level and to bring out the best in short story writing among Malaysians.”

The shortlist and top three winners will be announced at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih at a later date.

Maya Press, the co-sponsor of the competition will publish a volume of the selected short stories, and the winning authors will be awarded a prize.

Terence Toh said of the entries, “Many of the stories were a joy to read, drawing me in with intriguing plots, fascinating characters, or evocative turns of phrase. Some hooked me from their very first lines, while others took their time, building up to truly firecracker endings.

“A few even managed to overwhelm me with emotion.

“The most enjoyable part of reading these stories was seeing the Malaysian voice featured in its full glory.

“This included our local slang, foods, customs, and even ghosts all taking center stage!”

The 18 long-listed short stories and the writers are:

1. ‘The Festival’ by Lam Kok Liang
2. ‘It runs in the Family’ by Loshni Nair
3. ‘The First’ by Hoo Sze Ling,
4. ‘Four’ by Samuel Tan Lee Yong
5. ‘Threshold’ by Lim Wan Phing,
6. ‘Red-eye Flight’ by Chloe Hor Yin Yee
7. ‘A Chance Encounter at Sungai Chilling’ by Sharmilla Ganesan
8. ‘The Washerwoman’ by Yeoh Jun Ee
9. ‘The Khutbah Staff’ by Zulfikri Bin Ahmad
10. ‘An Afternoon at the Bank’ by Fong Min Hun
11. ‘The Great Sleep Reset’ by Ethan John Matisa
12. ‘Such A Pretty Girl’ by Sumitra Selvaraj 
13. ‘Just a Cat’ by Wong Xiu Wei 
14. ‘The Gambling Man’ by Joshua Lim Jia Sheng
15. ‘The Girl Who Remembered’ by Poh Tun Min
16. ‘Generation Game Night’ by Joshua Lim Jia Sheng
17. ‘The Things You Weep For’ by Miriam Devaprasana a/p Charles Samuel
18. ‘Green-Eyed Monster’ by Mohd Hafidz Mahpar. – The Vibes, October 20, 2022