Since 1999, Anam Cara has awarded a week’s residency at Anam Cara to the Second Place winner of the Fish Publishing Short Story Contest. For more information about Fish Publishing, the contests they sponsor, and how to purchase the annual anthologies of winning stories, contact publisher
Clem Cairns at www.fishpublishing.com.

	Vanessa Gebbie "Words from a Glass Bubble" 2007

"I first came to Anam Cara in 2005, to attend a workshop. A ‘one-off’ visit to a part of the world I didn’t know. I needed a break, a change in emphasis, some nurturing as a creative being. A treat.   
"Since then, I have been often. And half joked, ‘If I ever get placed at Fish, I’d like to come second, so I can come here…’            
"There was a wonderful synchronicity in coming second in 2007 -- a synchronicity in winning with “Words from a Glass Bubble,” a story that had its inspiration here, on two separate visits. Go to the beautiful graveyard over the lane, and you will find my glass bubbles. Go for a walk through Castletownbere or below the magnificent Healey Pass, and you might find the rest of my inspiration.
    "Anam Cara visits have become part of my journey as a writer. Not ‘a treat’, not ‘going away to write’, but fundamental. Each time I stay, it feels like I am getting closer to home."

Vanessa Gebbie lives in Brighton, England and began her full-time career as a writer just five years ago.  Her winning story, "Words from a Glass Bubble," is the title story of her first collection, which is being published by Salt Publishing (Cambridge, England) and was launched at the Foundling Museum in London on the 11th of March 2008. Her second collection of short fiction has been accepted and will be published in 2009. Also in 2007, Vanessa was awarded First in The Daily Telegraph Novel Competition, First in The Paddon Award (Exeter University) Competition, Second in the Bridport Prize Competition, and Second in the Flashquake Less is More Flash Fiction Competition.

Amy Sackville "Beach" 2006 “Having space and time to do nothing but write and stare at the sea for a week was exactly what I needed to start a career as a writer in earnest. That, and a proper breakfast every morning, cheerfully served! I can’t express my gratitude enough.” Amy Sackville was educated at Leeds and Oxford and now lives in West London, where she is currently working on her first novel.

“Having space and time to do nothing but write and stare at the sea for a week was exactly what I needed to start a career as a writer in earnest. That, and a proper breakfast every morning, cheerfully served! I can’t express my gratitude enough.”

Amy Sackville was educated at Leeds and Oxford and now lives in West London, where she is currently working on her first novel.

Jo Campbell “In the Desert” 2005

I had never been to a writers' retreat and was very nervous about Anam Cara. Would I feel at home?  Would I be able to work?  Would I live up to expectations, including my own?
     I need not have worried. Anam Cara provided the perfect mixture of relaxation and stimulus, acceptance and challenge. Mornings were spent working -- despite the distraction of the stupendous view across the bay from my room -- and afternoons walking or visiting the haunting monuments in the area. Exquisite meals appeared as if by magic. And in the evenings, there was the opportunity to share work with Sue and my fellow writers, whose encouragement and constructive criticism were beyond price. As people say, what's not to like?

Jo Campbell from London, England, has won Second Prize for her short story, “In the Desert,” a woman’s story of recovery following her husband’s death. She will read from her story at the launch of this year’s anthology at the end of June and take up her one-week residency at Anam Cara in the fall of this year. Congratulations, Jo, on a tremendous story!

[Editor’s Note:  We have just learned that Jo Campbell has been shortlisted for the William Trevor Prize (in 2008).  Good luck, Jo!]

Philip MacCann, Belfast, Ireland
“Shadow Lives”
2004

"Anam Cara is run by some of the nicest people you'll meet.”

Philip MacCann has been a critic for The Guardian and The Spectator. His fiction has won a number of prizes, including the Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize for travel writing about Finland , where he worked for the British Council. His short story collection, The Miracle Shed (Faber 1995), was published to great acclaim and was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. The Observer wrote: “beautiful and compulsive narratives. You won't want to stop for a breath.” The London Independent: “His originality dazzles.” Time Out: “his weirdly beautiful style inspires optimism, lifting the spirit as great art does. He's an immensely talented and original writer.” The Guardian: “Really blazes: this is what literature is about.” In 1999, he was selected by The Observer as one of 21 writers of various disciplines across the world for the new millennium.

Exploring atmosphere, evocation and voice, some stories are rhapsodies of self-annihilation, many are satires of love or examine the intransigence and absurdities of human nature. Some seem to aspire to evoke the architecture of a cathedral and a Gothic span from gutter to Heavens. The search by "shadow people" for tenderness and beauty in the most hostile situations evokes a characteristic comic pathos.

MacCann tries to create the illusion of three dimensions by evoking the gap between what is said and what is left unsaid; between what we discern about characters and what they know about themselves. Behind the facade, below the surface, beneath the persona, submerged, suppressed: this is where the significant action takes place.

Perhaps the most praised stories were his series of what he called his "naval studies": narrative shells where in empty lives "all of a sudden, nothing happens twice."

 Geona Edwards, Spain
“The Terrible Eyes of Big Hawkins”
2003

"At Anam Cara, you are physically, mentally and spiritually nourished. The "real world" you blame for obstructing your writing, or filling it with bitterness and triviality, is removed. Clouds clear to reveal the creator in you, and days are as long as you need them to be. Any writer´s dream, really."

Geona Edwards is an American writing and teaching in southern Spain, where he lives with his girlfriend and dog. His links/publications include:

"Longing" in The Shore Magazine: http://www.theshoremag.com/17_longing.html
"Nightfall" in Electric Acorn (issue 15): http://acorn.dublinwriters.org/EA15/edwardspoem.htm
"Mrs. Stone" in Poetry Midwest (Isuue 11, pdf): http://staff.jccc.net/schmeer/pm/#list
"Juan´s Last Stand" in Flashquake: http://www.flashquake.org/archive/vol4iss2/fiction/juanslaststand.html
"Whitebread Oppression" in Tattoo Highway (2nd place) ; http://www.tattoohighway.org/10/contest.html and upcoming,
"The Oracle of Oxion", 1st place in specficworld.com´s 2004 story contest, to be published in Rogue Worlds (pdf): http://www.specficworld.com/ and "Frankie Frown" upcoming in print in Prairiedog 13

	David Gardiner, Walthamstow , England “Letting Go” 2002

“It's easy to promise yourself that you're going to put time aside for writing, in the real world almost impossible to do it. There is always something a lot more urgent, a lot more immediate: your children need you, the dog is sick, it's your last chance to see that independent film, your partner wants to talk about the hard time she's having at work. When the mood is right everything else is invariably wrong. The answer to this dilemma is Anam Cara.

"At Anam Cara you live a cossetted life in an ethos of creativity and support for your writing, in the company of fellow writers who understand what's going on when you stare at a blank sheet of paper for three hours, and the rugged Irish coastline in which the retreat is set cannot fail to inspire. As Socrates was the midwife to knowledge, so Sue is the midwife to artistic creativity. She just somehow knows what you need and when you would prefer to be left alone and where you've got with your particular project. I went on my free week with a vague idea that I would like to create a short-story collection using the half dozen or so pieces that I thought might be good enough. But they were very diverse and in volume simply not enough to make a respectable book. I found that being at Anam Cara released a great flood of creativity, and by the end of my stay, I had two more stories that I thought might be worthy of inclusion. More importantly, I had identified the common threads that ran through everything I had written and came up with a linking story, little more than an extended joke but I could see that it was the missing element that turned a random basket of stories into a collection.

"The book was published last year by Bluechrome/Boho in Bristol as The Rainbow Man and Other Stories. Reviews have been positive, sales moderate. It doesn't make me the next Frank O'Connor, and it isn't going to make me rich but the satisfaction that I have gained from its acceptance by people whose opinion I respect has given me one of the great ‘highs’ of my entire life.”

Formerly noted as a wandering ne'r-do-well anarchist hippy professional student, now a settled ne'r-do-well superannuated anarchist hippy care worker living in London, earning sufficient that he is no longer a drain on the public purse. 55 years old (April 2002) a Belfast Irishman living in England (we're a big tribe) for a long time, former teacher, higher degree in Philosophy, formerly worked in the s**t end of satellite TV. (We installed the larger motorised dishes for international reception, mostly). Likes film, science fiction (has tried to write some), contemporary folk music, interested in alternative lifestyles (e.g. the commune movement), presently living in large house with lady named Jean and adopted daughter named Cherelle (aged 20 -- now a student at Liverpool University ). Also likes science (e.g. popular science books), amateur radio and electronics, scuba diving, travel (especially Asia -- mad about Indian women but please don't tell anybody), good conversation, Chinese food (which he can cook himself when pushed), reptiles (not to eat but to befriend) and playing on the Internet (mankind's noblest creation).

	Sylvia G. Pearson, Edinburgh, Scotland “Dregs” 2001

“A haven for writers and artists, an opportunity to work on projects demanding peace and quiet, with no domestic obligations apart from bringing bums off seats to go and eat creative meals cooked by Sue Booth-Forbes, Director. That’s Anam Cara!

“Meeting other writers around the table and having great conversation, swapping ideas and tips – getting valuable input from Sue’s expertise as a writer and editor who is as bright and congenial in the mornings as she is in the evenings (a pretty unusual and refreshing experience. That’s Anam Cara!

“Access to a well-stocked library – fiction and reference – participation in the Beara’s writers’ group who come from far and wide to meet fortnightly, an eclectic cross-section of strong literary minds in the tradition of Ireland ’s greats! A drive round some of the historic and beauty spots of this stunning part of the country, visits to pubs where Irish singing and dancing are an education and rich entertainment. That’s Anam Cara – soul friend indeed!”

Sylvia G. Pearson began, at 55, to write short stories. Travel in South Africa and life in Shetland inspired widely contrasting backgrounds for her work, which has been published in several anthologies and has won prizes. Her own collection has now been submitted for publication. Recently, the Scottish Arts Council gave her a very generous award* to fund research for a South African novel, a Shetland one, plus an early childhood memoir – all currently in the works. She lives in Edinburgh and is the proud mother of two sons, her keenest critics and supporters.

*From the award letter: “Our Specialist Advisors considered your submission to be of such exceptional literary merit that it was unanimously agreed to offer you an increased award. I should also add that this decision was made in the context of an exceptionally competitive funding round.”

Kevin Parry, Seaford, East Sussex, England
“Drowned Boy”
2000

“A bit of advice for next year’s entrants: Shoot for Second Prize!”

Kevin Parry was born in Umtata, South Africa, and has lived in England since 1979. Educated at various universities in both countries. Formerly worked in retail but now writes full time. He has won a number of prizes in addition to Second Place in the Fish Publishing competition.

 Geraldine Taylor, Bristol, England
“Etienne’s Tattoo”
1999

Geraldine Taylor is a multi-award-winning writer of adult non-fiction and children's fiction. She is Educational Counsultant to Ladybird Books as well as a University Student Counselor.