Rochdale writers reach regional final

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Two budding writers have won prizes for their work. Brenda Hance of Littleborough and Vivien McCord from Wardle each entered a story into the ‘Flashback Fiction’ competition and will now go forward to the regional final.

Flashback Fiction was a writing competition open to anyone living in the North West. Over the last few months, visitors to the boroughs libraries of all ages were encouraged to write an historical tale of no more than 500 words. Settings for the stories ranged from Ancient Egypt to Victorian workhouses and bomb shelters in the Second World War. Some writers created characters from their imaginations while others brought real historical figures to life.

Ms Hance said she has always enjoyed creative writing and has been writing short stories for ten years: “When I picked up a leaflet for the competition from my local library and decided to enter, I never expected to be selected. This is the first prize that I have ever won for my writing and I am absolutely delighted.”

The overall regional winner will be chosen by Professor Patricia Duncker, author of novels such as Hallucinating Foucault and Miss Webster and Cherif.

The pair are eagerly awaiting the result which will be announced this month.

Ms Hance’s story was titled ‘Return to a Strange Land’ and described Mary Queen of Scots journey from France to Scotland. Ms McCord’s story ‘Confetti Tears’ was a reflection on tragic events that happened during World War II that continued to have an impact on a young girl today.

The competition was promoted by Rochdale Borough Council and supported by Arts Lottery Funding.

Head of Customers and Communications Paul Young said the competition proved popular with library visitors: “The standard of entries has been high across the region, so to get two finalists from our borough is excellent. This competition has really captured the imagination of our local writers, and having to keep to under 500 words encouraged more people to give it a go.”