I wrote my first Flash piece in February 2018 and won the Australian Writers’ Centre Furious Fiction prize. This ignited my love affair with Flash, which has burned wild and bright ever since.

  • The Rumba of Second Chance tells a poignant story through small, well-chosen details. I include this in the category of ‘ambitious’ as it can be incredibly difficult to tell quieter stories; each choice of what to include and what to leave out can make or break the piece.

    Comment by Judge Ingrid Jendrzejewski

  • What we liked: Who doesn’t like a happy ending story? This one certainly felt satisfying in that department and was well executed and convincing, with its strong point-of-view and poignant imagery.

    Comment by Judge Jo Caddy

  • There were lovely details in this story of ageing and growing into understanding. Such a vivid picture painted of the grandmother in that first line. It left me wondering about what the glasses enabled the narrator to see and why the glasses were handed down the family line. This story is not as straightforward as it initially appears and left me with more questions than it answered.

    Comment by Judge Amanda Saint

  • I loved your story, Dettra. It felt like a lifetime in a tiny story and the last line was a beauty.

    Comment by Judge Emily Devane

  • Fantastic Flash. Full of sight, sound, taste, touch. Wonderful imagery and use of language.

    Matt Kendrick, Writer.

  • The compact style grabbed us immediately and manages to tell so much in so few words (327 to be exact). Seven short-burst, stacked stanzas, with excellent use of repetition and a real understanding for the stages that we go through. It reads as it should, like a ‘to do list’ for a broken heart – hence why this format makes sense here. The ultimate ‘moving on’ manifesto!

    Australian Writers’ Centre