Well, here we are. Another year, another SSC. Before getting into the
results themselves, some general thank yous. Many thanks are due to
the contest readers/reviewers, who - as usual - beavered away behind
the scenes, stuck with it to the end, and didn't seem to mind me being
dictatorial. Without them, there'd be plenty of stories, but not much
of a contest. Contest aside, my own thanks to all of the authors who
submitted stories this year, no matter how many, nor how they fared.
It's absolutely the case that the contest has always existed primarily
to encourage people to write about our kink, and this year's stories
are a fine collection.
A special personal thank you to the authors who entered stories in the
"Remembering Alex Birch" category. I wanted to use the contest this
year to remember Alex, but I honestly didn't know how many entries
there'd be - if any at all. That category turned out to be the
strongest in the whole contest; pretty much any of the entries would
have been a worthy winner. Let's start there.
Remembering Alex Birch
The shortlisted stories in the "Remembering Alex Birch" category were:
Blue Eyes, by Stella
A Bundle of Twigs, by Crimson Shakti
The Classroom, by Abel
Four Little Words, by Kingspan
The Meredith Sisters, by Ollie Patbotham
Third place goes to "Four Little Words", Kingspan's very Birch-ian
(Birch-esque?) story of the use/abuse of a male position of power. An
extremely close second place goes to "A Bundle of Twigs", by Crimson
Shakti, which presents a vivid, personal and moving image of Alex
himself. But the winner in this category is "The Classroom", by Abel,
who writes in his introduction that he hopes Alex would have "enjoyed
this little tale". I'm sure he would, and there's no better way to
remember him.
The shortlisted stories in the "Human Drama" category were:
Because of Eric, by Kris
Because of June, by Kris
Deceit, by Crimson Kid
The Rumor Mill, by Kingspan
Too Late, by Andrew Angerclashes
Third place goes to "Because of June", Kris's story of male sexual
awakening, part of a mirrored pair of stories entered in this
category. Second place goes to Kingspan's "The Rumour Mill", a
brilliantly choreographed farce of misunderstanding. But there are two
winners, which couldn't be separated: Kris's "Because of Eric", the
matching story of female sexual awakening; and "Too Late", by Andrew
Angerclashes, a deftly told story of love and loss.
The shortlisted stories in the category "Imbalance of Power" were:
Awake, by Ollie Patbotham
Defiance: A Story of Courage, by JC Leonhardt
The Memory Stick, by Ollie Patbotham
The Red Dot, by David Carter
The Scout and the Scoutmaster, by Y Lee Coyote
Third place goes to "The Red Dot", by David Carter, a somewhat
mysterious tale of ritual and submission. Second place goes to JC
Leonhardt's "Defiance: A Story of Courage", which looks at the clash
between power and resistance, and how dignity is maintained in
adversity. Again there's a tie for first place in this category,
between two stories by the same author, Ollie Patbotham. "Awake" is a
delicate and aching story of how patterns of desire in a relationship
can create imbalances of power; "The Memory Stick" is a more
conventional but equally enjoyable exploration of how power
relationships can change in unexpected ways.
The shortlisted stories in the category "The Age of Twitter" were:
Cherries Are Red (But Dianna is Redder), by ~*starophie*~
The First Time, by Kris
Open Window, by Rogue the Bronze Firelizard
The Smart Phone App, by Kingspan
Tag, by Mija
Third place goes to "Open Window", Rogue's ingenious and very very
evil little story of what happens when a naughty boy and cutting edge
technology get mixed up. Second place goes to Mija's "Tag" - the first
story entered in the whole contest this year - which captures the
breathless excitement of encountering the vastness of the 'net as
someone kinked. The winner is Kris's story "The First Time", a lovely
little portrait of the beginnings of kink exploration.
The shortlisted stories in the category "A Picture is Worth
Five-Hundred Words" were:
The Box, by Kingspan
Genesis Spot, by Y Lee Coyote
I Think to Myself 'What a Wonderful World', by Harry
The Midnight Train, by Y Lee Coyote
The Pause That Refreshes - The Hiker's Report, by Y Lee Coyote
Red Darn, by Mija
Third place goes to Harry's fantastically imaginative overturning
of The Wizard of Oz, "I Think to Myself 'What a Wonderful World'".
Second place goes to "Genesis Spot", by Y Lee Coyote, a dark and
shadowy story of violence as the catalyst for desire. Yet again
there's a tie for first place. Mija's "Red Darn" shows the everyday
comuppance for a careless girl set against a time of necessary
frugality. And "The Box", by Kingspan, paints a vivid picture of a
childhood awakening, triggered by a magical find.
The shortlisted stories in the "Edge/Not-my-kink" category were:
Daddy Fantasy, by Kris
Protege, by Rogue the Bronze Firelizard
The Retreat, by Kingspan
Third place goes to Rogue for "Protege", stepping outside of his
own kink to tell a convincing story of female power-play. Second place
goes to "The Retreat", by Kingspan, which explores gender roles and
equality of treatment, in a story that would have done just as well in
the "Another Time" category. The winner in this category is "Daddy
Fantasy", by Kris, a hot and edgy portrayal of fantasy and ageplay.
The shortlisted stories in the "Slash" category were:
An Awkward Interview, by Ollie Patbotham
Daddy's Special Girl, by Rogue the Bronze Firelizard
The Goody-goody Gets His Due in Spades, by Y Lee Coyote
Third place goes to "The Goody-goody Gets His Due in Spades", by Y
Lee Coyote, which perhaps expresses the fond wishes of millions of
Star Trek fans. Second place goes to Rogue's "Daddy's Special Girl", a
light but convincing twist on the relationships in the NCIS office.
The winner is "An Awkward Interview", by Ollie Patbotham, a nicely
meta superhero mashup, perfect for the category.
The shortlisted stories in the category "Another Time" were:
Adam and Eve: What Could Have Happened, by David Carter
Burning Vigil, by Rogue the Bronze Firelizard
Project Sawyer, by Kingspan
Third place goes to Rogue's "Burning Vigil", a vivid picture of the
life of a blacksmith's apprentice. Second is "Adam and Eve: What Could
Have Happened", a gleeful re-writing of Genesis to make it more or
less as perverted as possible. The winner in this category is "Project
Sawyer", which spans both past and future, marrying science fiction
and classic literature with great skill.
The shortlisted stories in the "Genre Fiction" category were:
The Adjustment, by Mija
The Adventure of the Speckled Bum, by Kingspan
An Enlivening Change of Pace, by Crimson Kid
Hide and Seek, by Ollie Patbotham
Sin, Penitence and Repentance, by Y Lee Coyote
Third place goes to Ollie Patbotham's "Hide and Seek", a hilarious
and curiously hot subversion of an early reader. Second is Mija's
clever play on a Philip K. Dick story, "The Adjustment". But the
narrow winner here is "The Adventure of the Speckled Bum", in which
Kingspan has Sherlock Holmes apply all of his detective skills to
solve a most unusual case, to his own advantage.
The shortlisted stories in the "Wildcards" category were:
Choice, by Ollie Patbotham
More than a Roommate, by Kingspan
Opening the Heart, by John Marks
Reminder, by John Marks
The Renaissance Brat, by Kingspan
Third place goes to "Opening the Heart", one of a pair of dazzling
poems entered in this category by John Marks. Second place goes to
"Choice", by Ollie Patbotham, a noirish story of grown-ups with
complex motivations and back-stories. But the convincing winner in
this category is Kingspan's "The Renaissance Brat", a funny symphony
of dialogue that's full of subtext, play, and love.
There's just time for a couple of prizes in the gift of the dictator.
Y Lee Coyote gets the award for the Most Worthwhile Bending of the
Rules, for his trilogy of related stories, "The Pause That Refreshes".
If he'd followed the rules as written, the trilogy wouldn't have been
written, and that would have been the contest's loss. Also, John Marks
gets the Above and Beyond award, for both his dazzling skill with the
sestina, and his willingness to make life even harder for himself by
attempting to use six wildcards in each poem.
And that's it for another year. Final thanks to everyone involved for
a great contest. The only way it could have been improved is if Alex
himself were still around to enter stories. So long, Alex. You were
one of the good guys.