The winners of the 2019 Shooter Short Story Competition naturally share a high degree of literary accomplishment, elegance and resonance. Less expectedly, they both play with feast-or-famine themes in their respective post-Brexit and marital scenarios.

Jenny Booth, a writer and English teacher from Leeds, won the 2019 award for her story “Another Country”, which conjures an ominous post-Brexit world in which stark consequences emerge for rich and poor. She has previously published short fiction in Prole, Litro, Orbis, and elsewhere, and is currently working on a collection of short stories set in Yorkshire.

The runner-up, Rajasree Variyar, depicts a family strained by denial and anorexia in “Lucky Buddha”. Variyar, who was born in Bangalore, India, and grew up in Sydney, Australia, is currently based in London and juggling a job in insurance with a Creative Writing degree at the University of East Anglia.

Both stories are available to read on Shooter’s website via the links above, and “Another Country” will also appear in Shooter’s forthcoming Identity issue. To order a copy (our 10th issue!) or to subscribe, please visit the Subscriptions page. In the meantime, massive congratulations to our 2019 winners!