Best-selling author, Philip Pullman praised the China Stories competition winners’ entries, describing them as “varied and vivid” as he revealed their success as part of Liverpool Literary Festival.
Unfortunately unable to attend, the His Dark Materials writer sent a video message to congratulate winners; Maya Jones in the Primary School category; Poppy Fare in the Secondary School category and Phoebe Spradbury, who scooped the Student prize.
Maya Jones’ The Dump tells the tale of a dog called Dumpling and the scrapes he and his friends get into stealing food from a Chinese restaurant.
Philip Pullman called it “clever and funny and very well-shaped”, remarking that he likes the name Dumpling so much that if he were to get another dog that is what it would be called.
Maya said: “It was a very nice surprise”
Also shortlisted in this category was China by Jia En Tye and The Dream of the Ox by Freya Shields.
Poppy Fare’s “very good” maybe:ben story uses an unusual structure, combining mobile phone messaging with the narrator’s internal dialogue.
Philip Pullman said: “It’s easy to write bad dialogue but good, crisp, story-telling dialogue that manages to evoke a place with great vividness and detail is something else entirely.”
Also shortlisted in the Secondary category was Lotus on Ice by Oliver Marr, The Horrifying Move to China by Katie Mighten, Evie Day’s Made in China and D…i’n: the Panda by Lori Donald.
Our final China Stories winner, in the Student category, was When the Dragon Kissed the Phoenix by Phoebe Spradbury.
Phoebe’s story describes a fate-filled meeting between a young woman and a young man in Shanghai, as the clock ticks down to Chinese New Year.
Philip Pullman said: “This is a very sensuous evocation of the sounds and sights and tastes of that place, at that time.
“I have never been to Shanghai and I have never seen a Chinese New Year there, but I think I k now what it’s like now having read Phoebe’s story.”
Phoebe said: “It’s amazing to think that Philip Pullman has read my work.”
Also shortlisted were Connections by Dawn Kobayashi, When I met Zhuangzi by Robbie Short, The Tour by Jennifer Vidrine and Future Stations Past by Liam Randles.
The winners, announced by Frank Cottrell-Boyce at Liverpool Literary Festival, all received a printed publication featuring their work, gift vouchers and a hand-crafted Chinese scroll.
Find out more about the China Stories competition here > www.liverpool.ac.uk/literary-festival/china-stories/
Liverpool Literary Festival is proud to be supported by Bruntwood.