The first StorySLAM happened last night. Sometimes in life you have to have some magic and it was- absolutely magical.
As Mark Lewis, one of the joint prize-winners said, “Though a bit nerve-wracking, I really enjoyed the evening.” Me too. It was everything we’d envisaged and more. First and foremost the stories were brilliant. We had a talented bunch of seven competing, most of who hadn’t been on stage reading before.
The writers didn’t have a chance to get too stressed though, because Charlie had everybody in fits of laughter as soon as he took to the stage. 
We were all treated to an extract performance from his ‘Have Box Will Travel’ piece to start the evening. This set the tone for the quality readings that followed. London was the theme for most of the entries. Thanks to Roberta for her brilliant start to StorySLAM Live with “Violet Rain”.
We had all kinds of contributions including a joint performance from Naomi and Miriam told and written by text and email. But it was Mark Lewis whose often funny, but highly visual writing, the judges said, was pefectly suited to the short form and was like “watching gymnastics”. Mark tied for the prize with and Anne McGauran whose story the judges said showed “great creativty” and “epitomised the [almost] lost tradition of short story telling”.
Special thanks to the judges Emma Hewett and Greg Mosse, for their invaluable contributions to the proceedings. Think X Factor of the literary world and you’ll get a flavour of what it was like. Watch the video when it’s up and I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions on who you think each judge might resemble.
The atmosphere was amazing, from the music that provided a perfect background for the networking breaks, to the candles that dotted the small tables scattered around – it all made for the perfect jewel of a night.
COMING UP: The People’s Choice Online Slam, where you can watch videos of the readings and vote. Keep checking the website for video of the event including all the stories and look out for the next event with Lemn Sissay and more short story surprises. Better still why don’t you write one and create your own bit of magic.
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