Yasmin Jaunbocus, a second year English Literature student at Lancaster University, has recently won first prize in an international writing competition hosted by Ether Books.
The competition, targeted at writers aged 18-25, entailed the creation of a short story. All stories were available for download through an Ether Books mobile app, with the author of the most downloaded story heralded as the winner.
Jaunbocus, whose story, ‘The Perfect Dinner’, centred around “a delectable cook and housewife” cooking up a storm “when she finds her adulterous husband munching with another woman,” was thrilled with the result.
Talking to SCAN, Jaunbocus said: “[I] can’t really believe I won! It is a world-wide competition and my first.” She added that she “didn’t expect to win at all.”
“I got an email through my uni email and had never entered a competition before,” Jaunbocus explained, “especially for writing, so I thought why not! If I don’t win it’s at least an experience.” Her prize includes an iPad and a publishing contract.
When asked what she would say to other students interested in entering such competitions, Jaunbocus responded: “Go for it! If you don’t win, it’s an experience.”
The top three submissions were posted at various points throughout the competition, with Jaunbocus emerging victorious over popular submissions ‘The Tongue’ and ‘Awakening’ by Haley Kate and Amanda Muir respectively.
Ether Books, which publishes contemporary short fiction, articles and poetry through a free mobile phone app, aims to make mobile reading more accessible by providing content from published authors in addition to supporting the work of new writers.
Congratulating Jaunbocus on their Facebook Page, Ether Books commented that they would provide further details in the near future regarding her contract. “We’ll also get in touch with a number of writers who we’ll be publishing soon,” the company added.
