Cha Flash Fiction Contest - winners

Thank you to all the writers who sent work to Cha's "Misinterpretation" Flash Fiction contest. Judges Reid Mitchell and Tammy Ho have selected the following three pieces as the finalists. Please scroll down to read the writers' biographies and their commentaries on the pieces. All three stories will be published in  the Fifth Anniversary Issue of the journal, due out in late November 2012. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our patron from San Jose, USA who generously donated the cash prizes.
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Also see our previous poetry contests, "Encountering" and "The Past".
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FIRST PRIZE WINNER £50

"People are Fundamental (以人为本)" by Tom Mangione

Tom Mangione on "People are Fundamental": I've always been fascinated with China's endless stream of slogans. Not a day goes by when I don't see signs urging passersby to work for the good of the country or to celebrate some new accomplishment of the government. But more fascinating to me than the slogans themselves are the meanings that locals must attach to them beyond their literal meaning. The slogan that I chose, 以人为本 "People are Fundamental" can be found at work sites throughout China. Given their ubiquity, I can imagine that these words have countless associations for people throughout China. It was from this idea that I found my story. Every morning on my way to my job, I used to walk over a pedestrian bridge by a large construction site where this slogan was displayed. I began to play with the idea of workers on the construction site having different understandings and interpretations of the words. The story came from there. READ THE STORY HERE.

20-word bio: Tom Mangione is a writer and musician living and working in Shanghai, China.

SECOND PRIZE WINNER £30
"Eclipsed" by Angelo B. Ancheta

Angelo B. Ancheta on "Eclipsed":I have often wondered how the world might end. Whenever there are disasters such as quakes, tsunamis, or nonstop rains, I entertain the idea that the world could be ending soon. "ECLIPSED" represents many things for me that struck fear when I was young, apocalyptic things that could be scientific or supernatural, or both. But what makes such scenarios more frightening is when people such as one’s parents leave and never come back. READ THE STORY HERE.

20-word bio: Angelo B. Ancheta often seizes the moment through writing poetry specifically haiku.

THIRD PRIZE WINNER £20
 "My Bhua" by Hema Raman

Hema Raman on "My Bhua": My Bhua was inspired by a lone woman who is the caretaker of a dilapidated bungalow next to my house. She has no family but is everyone’s aunt. She pleads and borrows money for medicines and food from neighbours like me, but on a sunny day you can find her out in the garden with her brood of cats. She talks to them and chastises them while they purr eating their fish heads. One day as I watched them and imagined being her daughter, the entire piece came out like a song. I was singing it before writing it down. READ THE STORY HERE.

20-word bio: Hema.S.Raman lives in Chennai. Her short stories and flash fiction have won several prizes.

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