BRNO, Czech Republic — “Petrichor”, written by Bolaji Yusuf, was selected as the best of 87 entries for the Seventh Annual Brno Short Story Writing Contest, winning the 10,000 kc first prize.
“A Spectrum of Belonging”, written by Michael Hall, was second and receives 4,500 kc. “Miracle on Petrov Hill”, by Dagmar Pavlov, is third and gets 2,500 kc.
In the youth category, “The Depth above the meaning”, by Lukáš Plotěný, and “A Lifetime”, by Barbora Skokanová, each won 1,000 kc awards.
The winning writers will read their stories as part of a special Brno Writers Group meeting at the Brno Expat Centre on Tuesday at 7 p.m. All are invited.
Eight additional stories were awarded Honorable Mention (see below).
Yusuf, who is originally from Nigeria, is an engineer who conducts research in machine learning at the Brno University of Technology, helping to improve voice assistance programs like Siri and Alexa with the ability to handle new words and sounds on the fly. He has lived in Brno for the past three and a half years.
Petrichor, which is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil, is about an accidental meeting between two people, a trip to a local hospital, and the impetus to reach out to family.
“It is mostly made up, but there are pieces of it that are inspired by biking and people I know,” Yusuf said. “I had some of it in my head before but I don’t know how likely it was that I would have written it. Then I saw the contest and I thought that was the perfect venue for it.”
Hall is originally from Arizona.
“It is a hobby,” Hall said about his writing. “I remembered hearing about this contest last year. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get back into writing.”
Pavlov, who lived and was married in Brno, now lives with her family and teaches English in Prague.
“I was inspired by the contest,” Pavlov said. “I went back in my memories and I remembered what Brno felt like. I remembered Petrov. The idea came. I just took a notepad and started writing.”
This was the first year that the BSSWC was able to provide a separate bonus structure for student contestants. Three students advanced into the final round. Plotěný and Skokanová were selected and both receive 1,000 kc.
Plotěný is a student at střední škola Olomoucká Brno but he is currently in Ireland as part of an internship at an elecrontics company. He is working on his first book.
“My friend told me about this competition, because I can’t stop talking about my book,” Plotěný said. “I read the rules, spent two hours during math class coming up with the story, then I came home and for the rest of the day I was writing.”
Skokanová is a student at Gymnázium Brno, Slovanské náměstí.
“I was thinking about what is special about Brno,” she said. “Not so long ago I went with my classmates to the theatre to see Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch (The Expulsion of Gerta Schnirch, a book published by Brno-writer Kateřina Tučková that has since been made into a play). It stuck in my mind. From that point on it connected to the history of Brno. That was the biggest inspiration.”
Student Lucie Lamačová earned Honorable Mention.
The BSSWC was a free contest that allowed only one entry per person. The short stories had to be in English, 2,500 words or less, and address the theme “Perfect Strangers” with a significant connection to Brno. Entries had to be created and written by the entrant, and submitted by email by midnight Sunday, May 21, 2023. The jury included a cross-section of local cultural icons and writing enthusiasts:
– Don Sparling, a co-founder of the Brno Expat Centre and a longtime leader in the local expat and Masaryk University communities;
– Tomáš Kačer, the head of the Department of English and American Studies at MU and a translator;
– Anna Formánková, a translator and a book editor at MOBA Publishing House;
– Anne Johnson, a medical and academic editor, former BSSWG contest winner (2021), and co-founder of Czech Theater; and
– Joe Lennon, a writer for Brno Daily and the Brno Expat Centre, and coordinator of the Writing Lab at Masaryk University.
The jury was instructed that the contest was focused on creating a story that included the theme “Perfect Strangers” with a significant connection to Brno. The story was the most important aspect, including the writing, originality, character development, and plot development. It was understood that most of the entrants would not be native English speakers and that, in fact, this may have been their first attempt to write creatively in English.
Brief notes about the jury decisions are provided below for the top entries.
Brno Daily (brnodaily.cz) and the Brno Expat Centre (brnoexpatcentre.eu) were both media sponsors of the Brno Short Story Writing Contest.
The Jetveo Platform and App Builder (jetveo.io) was an in-kind sponsor that provided the youth bonuses.
For more information, go to the contest website at https://brnowriters.wordpress.com/ or visit www.facebook.com/brnowritersgroup . Send questions to brnowritersgroup@gmail.com.
The top short stories, with the brief synopses as provided by the authors, are listed below:
FIRST — Petrichor, by Bolaji Yusuf
Two guys chat on the way to a hospital.
Notes from the jury: “We admire this story for its psychological depth, its stunning descriptive language, the natural and relaxed rhythm of the two main characters’ conversation, and its loving details about Brno.”
SECOND — A Spectrum of Belonging, by Michael Hall
Gabriel tries to balance past and present while coming to an acceptance of where home is during his mother’s first visit to Brno.
Notes from the jury: “We appreciate how the story develops the theme of ‘Perfect Strangers’ in an unexpected way – showing through a series of well-imagined dialogues how a foreigner’s happy life in Brno might nonetheless end up making them a stranger to their own family, and perhaps even to themselves.”
THIRD — Miracle on Petrov Hill, by Dagmar Pavlov
A short story about how a chance encounter with a perfect stranger can change your life.
Notes from the jury: “We liked the story’s melancholy but optimistic mood, and how it uses details from Brno’s present and past in a way that is very subtle and yet integral to the late-in-life re-awakenings of the two main characters.”
TOP HIGH SCHOOL ENTRY — The Depth above the meaning, by Lukáš Plotěný
Even if it may seem otherwise. Many times, the ones we call our best friends, will turn out to be strangers in the end, and those we have never seen before or spoken to before, will turn out to be the ones, we can always believe and rely on, the most.
TOP HIGH SCHOOL ENTRY — A Lifetime, by Barbora Skokanová
What is the value of a life for someone who remembers living thousands of them. And what meaning can bring one person you’ve never even met.
Eight additional stories were awarded Honorable Mention (listed in the order submitted):
• The Last Watch, by Anežka Sanitrová
Braggs and Noel have one in common – they are sent to fight monsters on a watchtower for the rest of their life. Can a beautiful city on another planet be an escape from their fate?
• Shaken like green leaves in the water, by Philipp Spiegl
…tells the story of a man, a heartbroken and weary traveler, who is looking for a place to settle down and be happy, and a woman, who contributes to keeping up the illusion of their sparking love but actually has different plans, are drinking wine in a park.
• The Blue Passport, by Anastasiia Furman
A personal story about strangers, who find themselves far from home while it’s being destroyed. Their lives are overwhelmingly difficult but perfect for saving each other’s souls.
• Brutta Rima Colorata, by Roxana Badiu
Two souls moving in Technicolor,
Close to and away from each other.
• Something Old, Something New, by Inga Morawski
Ina travels to Brno, where she used to live, to attend a friend’s wedding. Visiting Czech Republic with her new boyfriend, she is confronted with old relationships and new acquaintances, new experiences and old places, old memories and new perspectives.
• A Pair of Sevens, by Jan Cymba
Various motives come into play when a vengeful member of the Brno dissent plans his farewell to the regime.
• Celia’s Algorithm, by Lucie Lamačová (student submission)
Technically, trying to understand the way my daughter’s mind worked in terms of computer algorithms was bound to end up in ruins – retrospectively, it’s easy to see that.
• The Cukrárna, by Maya Harel
A young Czech boy is fascinated by the old sweet shop in his village and the foreign family who moves into it.
Brno Writers Group 