I spent the first couple of weeks of 2004 trying to create some form of shortlist from the diversity of voices and writing styles who entered. Getting down to a shortlist of around ten stories was difficult enough, but picking my 3 favourites was damn near impossible. I’m therefore delighted that Trev has included several of my near misses in the competition issue of The Gay Read.

The winning story breaks one of the unspoken cardinal rules of short story writing – to start as near to the central point of the story and get in and out quick. Instead, Richard engages the reader, not only in the entire life of the two main characters, but that of their relatives, friends, colleagues and AIDS itself. Despite the density of information and emotion, Dying to Love is beautifully clear, unfussy and involving. It also made my weep in a public place, which from the start, made it stick out.

Steve Cook’s, ‘Unfashionably Late’ was always a contender due to the life he embues the central characters with. Two young men, both HIV positive, attend the funeral of one of their fathers. The tension simmering just under its skin and the wonderfully alive dialogue between the two central characters made this story feel like I’d been eavesdropping.

3rd place, Tat Usher’s ‘She’s Mine’ won me over with its hilariously bitter but tender stream of consciousness. The honesty and humour of the piece were completely engaging, and again, the character was so well observed it felt like someone I had actually met.

Amongst my other favourites, all of which at some point were in my top three, were Will Davis, ‘Grandma and the Wolf’ in which an elderly lady wins over a young burglar with a few home truths. The story has a great central tension which Davis’ effortlessly melts as the old lady tells her story. Jay Mandal’s, ‘His Own Worst Enemy’ was a refreshing take on a ‘gay’ story, focusing on a single conversation between the two, loving parents of a gay son. The other side of ‘coming out’ as it were. As with many of the stories, it’s power was in its descriptive simplicity. Paul J Martin’s ‘Bloodlines’ is a chilling, twisted, dead-eyed tale that offers a possibly all-to-real insight into the mind of a support line worker. I loved the way the central character’s self-harming runs through the story, unnerving the reader and building a growing sense of helplessness and dread. Another favourite was Shammu, which up to my final decision, came closest to making the top 3. A wonderful story of lost innocence and the human need to feel/reject intimacy. Must also make mention of Cardboard Love – one of many stories with a rent boy as central character, but with a tragic twist, and ‘The Play’ for it’s hysterical, emotional wreck of a central character, perfectly observed.