The Award ceremony for the Farnham Fiction Award closed the Farnham Literary Festival on 13 March, 2022.

Overall winner

The overall winner was Grace Walker, with an innovative story The Forced Generation. She imagines a chilling future in which children are “combined” to save pressure on resources. Her clever alternation between “I” and “we” explores what such a fused personality might experience.

Literary award

The literary award was won by Jilly Funnel’s The Lady Without the Van. The story paints the plight of many senior citizens today, feeling isolated, lonely, and despairing for a rich, fulfilling life of human engagement.

Thriller award

Stephanie Thornton’s The Watcher in the Woods took the thriller prize. An unconventional thriller with literary elements, it explores the sense of isolation of the two main characters.

Romance award

Also cross-genre was the Romance winner: Ekaterina Crawford’s Not Your Ordinary Love Story, a ghostly romance. Its setting, in our pandemic years, is scary enough but has an overriding other-worldliness that adds to the complexity and intrigue.

Science Fiction/Fantasy award

Jilly Funnel scored a second win with her fantasy story, Stuck Like a Dope with a Thing Called Hope. This tale blends humour and fantasy, locating the mythological Pandora in the 21^st Century and having her open her box one last time to see what is left in it—hope.