Writing Challenge Hall Of Fame

Quick links on this page:

introduction - hall of fame - 1,000 word club - author profiles

This page is run by Lesley Truchet and Michael Rumsey.

The Hall of Fame showcases writers who have excelled in the flash fiction writing challenges run on this website, and in the other mini-challenges and competitions run in the Authors of the Flash Fiction Writing Challenges Facebook group.

Want to join the group? Click on the link above.

Lesley Truchet and Michael Rumsey

Introduction, by Lesley Truchet

Having received so much response from our recently set up Facebook challenges, we think our distinguished Hall of Famers deserve much wider recognition and appreciation. On this page we will publish, and add to, a never ending list of names of every single writer who enters the 'Authors of the Flash Fiction Writing Challenges Hall of Fame'. 

If you manage to get through the Hall of Fame door, and it won't be easy, your name will remain imprinted on the list forever, and ever, and ever, and beyond, or until computer technology expires, whichever comes first.

Who is eligible to enter?

If you have already entered one or more of Chris Fielden's world renowned writing challenges, you will probably be aware that the Facebook group was set up in order that Chris's challenge writers could communicate.

The group instantly became popular with new members arriving by the minute. Within this group (which also accepts members who haven't yet responded to any of Chris's challenges) we are running varied, regular challenges, winners of which enter the group's prestigious Hall of Fame. Go on. Have a go. Join the Facebook group today.

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The Hall Of Fame

Below dwells the most prestigious of tables, for it holds the details of word weaving legends. If you think you're worthy of a place on this fabled tableau, contact Michael or Lesley in the Facebook group. Or hassle Chris and he will pass on said hassle without a moment's delay.

1,000 Word Club

Here are the authors who have contributed over 1,000 words to the flash fiction writing challenges. Each one is a short story generating, charity supporting machine.

• Allen Ashley
• Angela P Googh
• Betty Hattersley
• Cathy Cade
• Christopher Fielden
• Claire Apps
• David Silver
• Gavin Biddlecombe
• Glen Donaldson
• John Notley
• Len Saculla
• Lesley Truchet
• Maddy Hamley
• Malcolm Richardson
• Martin Strike
• Michael Rumsey
• Mike Scott Thomson
• Sandra Orellana

Author Profiles

Below are some profiles of authors that have submitted to many of the writing challenges and are active members of the Facebook group. They are presented in the order they were received.

Lesley Anne Truchet

AMBITION? OR NECESSITY?

When the government upped the retirement age for women in the UK, it didn’t suit my circumstances at all! I explored various ideas of self-employment enabling me to work from home in France and decided that my writing ambition had been simmering on the back burner for long enough.

I launched myself into an online writing group, making a commitment to the exceptionally talented Chris Fielden, Michel Rumsey and others, plus engaging myself with other writing associated activities. It’s been five years since I began writing from home and my self-employment writing idea has earned me just about enough to buy a week’s shopping, and I’m not talking prestige supermarket prices. No matter, I enjoy my writing and that’s more important than being as rich as J K Rowling, sigh.

So, I plod on, hoping for a smidgen of fame in order to leave my footprint on record, no matter how small, (or large) it may be.

Michael Rumsey

Hi, I am Michael Rumsey, originally from Ipswich, Suffolk, UK, now retired and living in Athens, Greece. I ‘met’ Chris a few years ago when surfing the net for story competitions and thanks to that had success with three on his list.

Once the challenges started, it was a red rag to this bull and so far I have charged my way into all of them. My first ever published short story dates back to BCP (before cut & paste). I have stories of 4,000 plus words to my credit but tend these days towards flash, Ad Hoc for example.

Like most, I get an assortment of rejections upon which I give myself a slap on the wrist. It is now swollen beyond recognition. I have written several non-fiction articles and a few short bios that saw the light of day. I also enjoy writing book reviews and most recently have been gathering brownie points from reviews on Trip Advisor.

I was delighted when asked to help with this page. From day one, I have been amazed by smart comments and clever submissions from you. Many times I think I wish I had thought of that and now I look forward to seeing your own Member Profile.

Find out more about me on Facebook.

Cathy Cade

I live with my husband and dogs, mostly in the Cambridgeshire Fens and sometimes in the shadow of London’s Epping Forest, following a career in libraries where creative writing opportunities were limited to annual reports. Since retirement, I’ve concentrated on a different kind of fiction and joined our local U3A creative writing group.

For me, the hardest part is thinking up story ideas, which is where the pressure to come up with something in less than a month – either for the writing group or for Chris’s website challenges – is proving invaluable. Most of my current output is short stories and flash fiction since parking my practice novel while I learned to write. I also learned to line-edit and format for publication by compiling the anthology published by our writing group, the Whittlesey Wordsmiths.

My attempts at verse have been honed by years of rhyming treasure hunt clues and owe more to Pam Ayres than Betjeman or Chesterton. Examples can be seen at Commaful and on my website.

Instead of budgets and report deadlines, my targets now involve word counts and competition deadlines (for no remuneration worth mentioning), but I’m having more fun.

David Silver

I stumbled into journalism in 1963 after leaving school at 15 following scant exam success. I have worked as a reporter, sub-editor and comedic (some would disagree) columnist on several newspapers in the Greater Manchester area, most latterly the Bolton Evening News (now the Bolton News).

One of my favourite moments back in the day was meeting movie legend Warren Beatty who was filming on location in Manchester for his then latest production, Reds. I took my wife with me and she lay her hand on his arm, cooing, "I've been a fan of yours for many years." To which I butted in, "But she married me anyway." Mr Beatty actually laughed. Returning home, Mrs S clutched Mr Beatty's autograph to her bosom and swore she would keep it forever. Three days later, she lost it.

I took retirement (seriously knackered) in 2002, and from 2011-2016 wrote a light-hearted column, 'Smile with Silver', for The Courier, a Spain-based weekly newspaper for British expats.

With my passable knowledge of how the English language works, I took up Chris Fielden's challenges and found the activity shocked my brain out of its stagnant state. Thank you, Chris.

I have two children, three grandchildren and a clapped-out Polo destined for the old Volks home. These days, I wear an affable facial expression to conceal the fact that I no longer have a clue as to what's going on in the real world.

Johanna McDonald

I have only recently started writing following many years of wanting to.

 I'm not sure what stopped me in the past but I decided last year to go to creative writing classes. I completed the basic course and have since done a couple of advanced courses.

I have written a couple of children's stories that I will send off to be published one day. Not sure what's holding me back from doing that...

I enjoy writing short fiction and recently have joined a writing group that my fellow writing students have started up: 'South Hampshire writing group'. We meet monthly and do writing exercises and discuss competitions etc. Our aim is to self publish an anthology of short stories later this year.

By day, I am a practice nurse looking after the health needs of the people of Eastleigh.

I enjoy cooking, reading, playing guitar (badly) and walking my little dog.

John Notley

I was born in Forest Hill, S.E. London five years before WW2 (this makes me an oldie I suspect) and spent 40 years of married life in the village of Hadlow, Kent. My father joined the London Metal Exchange as a boy of 15 and served them for 50 years before retiring as Secretary. By contrast, my own working life involved many changes and, in his eyes, I was a rolling stone.

I left Alleyn's School, Dulwich at 16 and was employed as an office boy by a local newspaper company; my ambition then was to become a journalist. After two years I was called up for National Service in the army, most of this time spent in Egypt. Upon my return, for some unknown reason, I joined a London travel agency and from then on moved a number of times before ending up with my own small travel shop (Angel Travel) in Kent.

I was awarded a B.A. by the Open University in 1976 after six years of study and it was about then that I started to write short stories and poems, some of which were published. Since my retirement (during which I have taken on a number of part-time jobs including estate agency) I spend my time between the U.K. and Thailand where I do most of my writing.

I came across Chris by entering To Hull and Back in 2016 and since then have enjoyed the fun and inspiration which he provides.  Long may he reign.

Malcolm Richardson

Hi, I'm Malcolm. I've been writing fiction over ten years now. In earlier days I wrote a number of articles that appeared in a cycling magazine, reports on races and an interview! I started creative writing by joining a 'lifelong learning' course at a local university. It turned out to be a critique group and new starters were encouraged to think of a character and start writing a novel. Talk about jumping in the deep end!

After a few years wading through treacle the focus shifted to short stories, one to two thousand words. The intention was to produce a group anthology. Two anthologies were produced and I had two stories in each. Published on a print on demand site, the only sales were to group members.

Just over a year ago I joined a free online course aimed at beginners and those looking for a refresh. A great six week course led to the creation of an online Facebook writing group for course members. The main focus of the group tends to be flash fiction but members also engage in short stories, novels and poetry. This has encouraged me to be more prolific and so far this year I've won a flash fiction competition with several runners up places. Chris's challenges were highlighted to the group and this is how I became involved. I've had stories published in two challenges so far and have a number of others accepted for forthcoming volumes.

You can find out more about me on my website.

Sarah Mosedale

I only started writing flash in 2018 so am a beginner with lots to learn. I wrote massively as a kid and am now returning to creative writing at the end of a varied working life which has included some academic / technical writing. If you really want to read my co-authored book Regulation, Markets and Poverty or one of my academic papers or policy briefs, give me a shout :-)

I have read widely and voraciously all my life (crime, sf, classical and modern literature, the back of cereal packets etc.) so am always amused when advised to read more as I suspect it would be physically impossible. Though it's fair to say I am now reading more short stories and flash. To be honest I didn't even know flash existed till about a year ago. I am a relatively untaught, seat of the pants type writer, love working from prompts, just seeing what comes out.

I feel very lucky to have got to a place in my life where my time is my own. I’m writing for fun, for intellectual stimulation and probably, at this stage, still for therapeutic purposes. I am told this phase will pass quite soon for which any readers will probably be grateful. I was thrilled to be longlisted for the autumn Flash 500 competition and am delighted to have discovered the flash writing and open mic community both on Twitter and in Manchester, UK, where I live.

Find me on Twitter.

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