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Result of the Oxford/Pushkin Children's Fantasy Prize · Mythmakers

• 0:00
  Welcome everybody to such an exciting evening. We are going to hear from the finalists in
• 0:14
  our Oxford Pushkin Children's Book Fantasy Prize tonight. But before we get to that point,
• 0:24
  we are going to introduce everybody in the room, including our virtual participants because I
• 0:32
  wanted to run this like an inkling's meeting. So what Tolkien and Lewis and their friends
• 0:37
  used to do, they would have, they were done and then they would go to CS Lewis's rooms
• 0:43
  in Mordland and sit together and share what they had written. So that's why we're in this
• 0:49
  kind of venue because we're going to hear what wonderful stories have been written for this
• 0:55
  competition. But I'm going to go around the room and introduce everybody. So most important
• 1:02
  guests this evening, of course, are finalists. Yes, please do give me a round of applause.
• 1:10
  So we have, I'm going to, I'm afraid I'm also the camera man today. So excuse me while I just
• 1:18
  I'll do it like that. We have sitting on the sofa, our lovely trio of Grace,
• 1:24
  Kavney. Yes, Penn Holland and Reba, what's your surname?
• 1:31
  Reba Cattern, thank you. And joining us on my laptop is Amy Bryant, we like to wave Amy,
• 1:40
  who is probably, it's like terribly early in the morning, which is in New Zealand.
• 1:46
  And then we got Mick, is it Gart Gertner? Gartner? Gartner, who is joining us from America,
• 1:54
  my right? Yeah, she's nodding. Yes. So everybody is here, which is fantastic.
• 2:01
  I'm Julie Golding, I'm an author, but I also run this centre, the Oxford Centre for Fantasy.
• 2:09
  And next to me is, we introduce yourself. I'm Cristobal, I work for David Haim Associate,
• 2:16
  so I work with Julia, and that's an agency. Sorry, yes, a little agency. And I really enjoyed
• 2:23
  reading all of these, I thought the quality was exceptional. And then at the end of the sofa,
• 2:29
  we have, yeah, I'm Daniel, I'm an editor at Pushkin Children's Books, and we've given our names
• 2:35
  to surprise them with the Oxford Centre for Fantasy, so yeah. And then sitting over there,
• 2:40
  we have Amelia, who might have to get up and wave at the people.
• 2:46
  Yeah, I'm a writer, I'm a novelist, but many, many years ago, I used to work with Julia at Oxfam,
• 2:53
  I'm also a photographer. Yeah, I love reading the excerpts and the full final novels,
• 2:59
  there's a real treat, so thank you so much. And Amelia is also a trustee of the Oxford Centre
• 3:05
  for Fantasy, and standing behind her is Nigel, who is another of our trustees, do you want to wave
• 3:11
  to Meg and Amy? Yeah. And then now the order breaks down, so going around the room we have,
• 3:21
  are you who lives here? Here's one of our very, he was the very first member of the,
• 3:28
  the new Inklings idea in this house at number five, Northmore Road, and Joyce, who is our admin,
• 3:35
  and now we have the very important special plus ones for our finalists, I won't get you to
• 3:41
  introduce you by name, though. And then downstairs, from downstairs, they've come upstairs,
• 3:48
  Diana and Andrew, who live in the house, and not last, but no, we've also got Mark, I almost
• 3:57
  forgot you, Mark is a reader, tonight is a great voice artist, and then we have Alice, who is
• 4:05
  another literary agent from Felicity Bryan, is it Associates, which is an Oxford-based literary agency,
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  so we're doing pretty well on the old literary front here. So I'm going to start this evening,
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  just as, oh, one last person on the screen there is Bryan, who does all our social media, his
• 4:31
  team do our social media, so it's very important. And is there somebody else on the screen?
• 4:37
  Oh, that's us. I haven't got my glasses on. So when CS Lewis brought people into his room,
• 4:50
  it was a very simple thing they did each evening, which was they would say,
• 4:55
  has anybody got anything to read? And tonight, we do know that people have something to read.
• 5:03
  So we're going to go through this by alphabetical order. So Amy, that means your piece is going
• 5:10
  to be up first. So we're going to start with an extract from the lion and the mage,
• 5:17
  which is a splendid adventure in which Ezron, who has been taken off the streets as an orphan,
• 5:23
  and trained to believe that he himself is fated to save the world. This is until he meets
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  Calla, who is a healer, and lives with the rebels. So it's like a classic fantasy.
• 5:35
  In this extract, Calla's life takes a sudden, bad turn.
• 5:43
  I really do get to know the characters that you've written. And if I can announce any of your
• 5:47
  characters, um, you know, instead of Hermione or whatever, I do apologize. So this is an extract from
• 5:54
  Chapter 4. When Twilight crept in, Calla's heart was as full as her stomach. She sat on the
• 6:01
  labyrinth of the loft while her mother fed tal, extra bowls of steeling lambs to you, and her brothers
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  quizzed him on his training to his eyes, glued with pride. She missed her father's presence at the
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  table, but three years ago he died in the fields, and visiting home had never felt the same.
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  Perhaps it's time for bed, my Calla, her mother said, probably noticing her far away eyes.
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  You can share my room, and the boys can take the loft. Calla sighed and nodded. Time and
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  distance had flowed between her and her old life, like the stream under the low dirt bridge.
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  She knew every knot in the house's walls by heart, every creak in the floorboards.
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  Yet too much had changed. She changed too much for it to ever truly be home again.
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  A scream rent the stillness of the Twilight, piercing Calla's heart.
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  Up jurors she cried, leaping to her feet. More screams followed, people this time.
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  Calla bolted from the house, and her bare feet followed by talent, her brothers.
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  Soldiers fought in the street with raven men. Soldiers wearing scarlet cloaks of elder boron.
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  Arcturus reared in the middle of them, while Abby struggled to hold his cloak. Calla ran to help,
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  but a spear flew from nowhere, piercing Abby's chest. Calla bit back a cry as he crumpled to the ground.
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  Enemy swarmed around Arcturus, trying to grab his rope as it wicked through the air.
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  Arcturus tore into a man with his hooves, soon crushing him underfoot.
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  He kicked another in the ribs, and Calla hurt his scream and the sickening crunch.
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  Calla, get back here! Tally yelled from somewhere behind her.
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  Another man yelped as Arcturus turned on him, they'd bolted for the forest,
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  sealing his thirth and death. Arcturus thundered after him.
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  Calla looked back at the silhouette of her family's house, seeing Tally with raven men fighting
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  outside. They seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Her mother would be safe.
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  She checked that no one followed her, then sprinted across the dirt bridge toward the forest.
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  Tree trunks loomed like giant pillars as she pursued Arcturus inside, almost tripping over
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  the broken body of the man who'd foolishly run. His gruesome remains twisted her insides,
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  but she stumbled on. Crashing sounds came through the sparse undergrowth up ahead.
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  Arcturus screamed once more, a cry of rage, and Calla felt a stab of fear.
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  She hurried towards him, then gave a cry herself. Two thick chains were wrapped around his neck,
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  binding him between two trees, then disappearing into the dirt.
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  Arcturus thrashed and raged as if he could tear the giant trunks up by their roots.
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  Calla ran to him, fearing he might hurt himself. Arcturus, calm!
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  He snorted breath hot with fury, frothing at the mouth, but still enough at her voice for her to
• 8:51
  approach. No one seemed to be around, but the cruelty of the trap made Calla's blood boil.
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  The chains had already gouged into his flesh. She tucked him, tried to loosen them,
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  sending healing into Arcturus's wounds, easy Arcturus. These weren't hold you long.
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  Reinforcements would arrive soon, she only needed to keep him calm. No doubt Tal's eagle
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  eyes had been watching her every move. Be careful, he's dangerous. Calla spun to face the calm
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  voice. A boy sat astride a chestnut horse, watching her from not five paces away.
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  She straightened her shoulders, pretending he hadn't startled her. Not to me.
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  The boy looked too young to be part of the attackers, only a year or so older than her,
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  and he carried no weapon. But the assured way he sat on his horse said he was exactly where he wanted
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  to be. The boy flashed her a grin. How can you be sure? He had black hair and olive skin,
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  and his eyes flicked between her and Arcturus, as if trying to decide who interested him more.
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  He's my friend, Calla said, meeting his gaze.
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  So you know whose horse this is? The boy asked, suddenly intense on her alone.
• 10:07
  Do you, Calla replied? Something flickered deep in his eyes, in his dark eyes.
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  Someone who would be very annoyed at having it taken. Arcturus thrashed once more,
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  reinforcing his wounds, even as Calla tried to heal him. She didn't trust the boy a thread,
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  but until Catal arrived, she hadn't a chance of removing the chains. Perhaps if she played ignorant,
• 10:29
  help me, we can get his off. The boy looked uncomfortable for a split second,
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  and that's when Calla noticed the velvety-black cloak clasped about him and the gleaming bronze
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  circulates on his brow. She stared at the chains, you did this. The boy shifted in the saddle.
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  You, you're him. You've heard of me? I've heard of rats that were better than you.
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  He flashed another grin. That's a good one, although his voice soared for the first time,
• 10:59
  as did his eyes. I've known some very fine rats. The sound of shouts made them both
• 11:06
  glance back towards the village. She's in the forest, yelled an unfamiliar voice.
• 11:11
  Something cold and hard wrapped around Calla's wrist. She looked down to see a thinner chain
• 11:15
  sneaking around it. Her heart gave a thud of horror, and she tried to pull away, but the chain
• 11:20
  tightened instead. Let me go, she warned, glaring at the boy. The horse is more legendary than you,
• 11:28
  but the queen doesn't seem to pick so. Calla's heart picked up a faster rhythm.
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  Rav's men should be should have been here by now. They're after me. He grinned and nodded.
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  How do you like feeling so important? Calla pulled back. Rav's dream ring softly glowing in her hand.
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  You should let me go. His smile disappeared. I can't do that. Of course she can. You've just
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  another chain broke out of the ground near the tree roots, just as Tal burst through the trees.
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  He drew his sword and rushed at the boy, but a chain wrapped around his chest.
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  Tal cried out as it tightened around him. It pinned his arm to his side,
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  sneaking around it and forcing his hand open until his sword fell to the ground.
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  Enemy soldiers strode through the trees, led by a thin,
• 12:15
  shouldered man with a black point at beard.
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  Kill him, as Rav said. He's part of Rav's guard. He raised a dagger to Tal's neck,
• 12:24
  as if to do it himself. Leave him, the boy commanded. And to Calla's surprise, the man listened.
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  The boy studied her a moment. They're not curious. Then Tal. He gave a knot,
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  as if something about the three of them pleased him.
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  Bring them all, he said, turning his horse away.
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  You heard Lord Altai, the man snapped, and the scarlet clolt soldiers hurried to obey.
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  Recognition flooded Tal's face at the name the man had used. His eyes met Calla's,
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  the horror in the echoic, what she already knew. Ezra and Altai, the mages apprentice.
• 13:02
  Thank you. Very good. So, Amy, would you like to tell us a little bit of
• 13:07
  tiny things right? I'm sorry. Yeah. It came one day while I was listening to a song,
• 13:15
  and I heard one line of the song, and just the whole plot sprung into my head.
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  A lot of that moment was all the climax that came into my head right then, and then very quickly,
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  the rest of the story followed, all building to that point, and that the quickest I've ever had a
• 13:38
  book idea come together. Thank you. So, the Ezra and Scott, this magic,
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  are being to make someone change, which would be if they happen to have that piece.
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  Just a little bit about Calla and her gift. Yes. So, Calla is a healer, so she can heal people
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  and since they're pain that's gone around, and most healers need to touch somebody to heal them,
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  but Calla doesn't need to, and she keeps that secret for a lot of the book.
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  And her gift is kind of the opposite of Ezra's, because it has a lot about
• 14:19
  controlling and bringing death and her side of things is more just life-giving and helping people.
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  Thank you very much. Thank you, Amy. Excellent. So, right.
• 14:33
  I made a task into that, so just to introduce Grace's story.
• 14:38
  In the spooky story, set in Manchester, in this extract from early in the story,
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  Heather has been standing at the tram stop, and her little sister disappears, quite literally
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  disappears as you will see. How's your magic to accent?
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  Yeah, not great, as you're about to discover. Apologies, man, opinions.
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  Yes. Lily had a looked up and down the platform, but she couldn't see any sign of her sister
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  anywhere. Where was she? Why did she abandon her stuff? Then the message on the overhead board,
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  saying the tram was one minute away, changed to approaching, and the yellow tram came
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  interview down the road. It slivered along the rails until it came to an abrupt, squeaking stop
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  at the platform. The doors opened with a hiss. People got off and people got on.
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  Lily had the shouted, wiping rain away from her eyes and struggling to see over the heads of
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  the shuffling crowd. Lily, the tram's here. But Lily was still nowhere to be found.
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  After a minute or so, the tram's doors hissed close again, and it pulled away from the platform,
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  continuing its journey onwards towards St. Peter's Square. Furious had a pulled out her phone and
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  called Lily's number. It didn't even ring, but instead went straight to voicemail. Was she on
• 15:55
  the phone? Who the hell would she be on the phone to when the time was so pressing? Heather tried
• 16:01
  calling her two more times, but the result was the same. She checked the time. It was eight minutes
• 16:05
  past seven. That left them less than five minutes to get Lily on the train. More frustrated than ever,
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  Heather fired off an angry text to her sister. Where the hell are you? We've missed the tram now.
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  No sooner had she turned the phone scream off than it pinned back a message.
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  Message underlivered. Underlivered. What did that mean? That usually only happened when you
• 16:28
  didn't have a good phone signal. Heather was at full bars, and she very much doubted that Lily
• 16:33
  wouldn't be able to get any signal in the city centre. She looked around the now almost
• 16:37
  deserted platform helplessly. Across the square, she glimpsed the violinist through the
• 16:42
  room, still sheltering under the doorway. His gaze slid quickly away when they made eye contact,
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  and he went on trying to put his violin back into its battered case. But she got the impression
• 16:53
  he'd been watching her. An unnerving thought occurred to her suddenly. What if Lily hadn't just
• 16:59
  sauntered off? What if someone had taken her? Almost as soon as the idea came to head that she
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  dismissed it as ridiculous. Lily was 13, not three. She was smart enough not to wander off with
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  some stranger, and it wasn't as if somebody could have abducted her by force from a crowded
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  city centre platform. Heather ducked under the tram stops Perspect's roof to get out of the
• 17:20
  rain, dragging Lily's belongings with her, and tried to think, again, she died of Lily's number,
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  again, she got the voicemail message. She hadn't really expected anything else.
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  She checked the time. It was 7.15 now, and unless the train was running late,
• 17:37
  and it would be Sonslor and all that, Lily had definitely missed it. Heather considered for a
• 17:42
  moment whether her sister had decided not to wait for her and had instead just hopped on a tram
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  in the direction of Piccadilly train station. But no, that wasn't possible. The only tram that Lily
• 17:52
  could have got on in the time she'd been at the platform was the one that Heather had seen arrive
• 17:57
  and leave. Lily definitely hadn't gone onto that. She thought briefly, desperately about calling
• 18:03
  her mother for help, but no. Mal was working a shift on the A&E floor of the hospital.
• 18:08
  She wouldn't be able to answer her phone. Heather would have to find Lily on her own.
• 18:13
  Just then the tram pulled up on the other side of the platform, letting its passengers spill
• 18:17
  out through the doors. That gave her a spark of an idea. Somebody loitering on the platform might
• 18:22
  have seen what direction her sister went in. Much as Heather didn't enjoy speaking to strangers,
• 18:27
  she'd have to ask around. Excuse me, excuse me, have you seen my sister? She's 13, dark brown hair.
• 18:33
  She was wearing a raw rascal and a red hairband. No, thanks anyway, excuse me, have you seen my sister?
• 18:40
  Heather got nooks, shrubs, shakes of heads, sympathetic looks, in different glances. What she didn't
• 18:47
  get was any news as to her sisters whereabouts. When she finally slumped down on one of the platform
• 18:52
  benches, the rain had long stopped, and it was 20 past seven already. She was forced to accept
• 18:58
  that the people who were on the platform now had probably not been there when her sister disappeared.
• 19:04
  For God's sake, Lily, she punched furiously into her phone. It's your bloody train you've missed.
• 19:10
  You can explain to Mal why she needs to buy you another ticket. She hit send and waited.
• 19:15
  Ping message underlivered. Heather stared down at those two little words on her phone,
• 19:21
  and it finally hit her that Lily was gone. Not waiting around the corner, jabbering into her phone,
• 19:27
  or wandered off to look at the clothes shops in the Andale Centre. She was gone, vanished.
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  Heather felt the salt beginning her stomach, work its way up through her hearts and lungs,
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  crawl up her throat, and then finally burst from her mouth in an undignified moment of abject misery.
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  Tears prickled in her eyes, and the sobs kept coming, and her whole body was shaking,
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  and she could see people in the platform turning around to look at her, but she didn't care.
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  It didn't matter. What mattered was that she had lost Lily. She had lost her sister,
• 20:00
  and she still didn't even understand how it could possibly have happened.
• 20:04
  Somewhere between her desperate run back to the restaurant, and her frantic returns to the
• 20:08
  platform, something had happened to her sister. Possibly something dreadful, and it was all
• 20:13
  Heather's fault. She should have been with her. She should have been watching her. She should have
• 20:19
  had that precise moment, Heather's phone began vibrating in her pocket, and blaring its jarring
• 20:24
  ringtone. She scrambled to pick it up, a wave of release coursing through her. Lily! But then she
• 20:30
  looked at the caller ID, and saw that it was not Lily. It was her mother. Heather's mouth was
• 20:36
  suddenly drier than sandpaper. She would have to tell her mother what had happened, and the moment
• 20:41
  she did, all of this would become undeniably real. They would have to contact the police.
• 20:45
  They'd have to put up missing posters. Make desperate appeals for information on the 10 o'clock news.
• 20:51
  She let the phone continue to ring for a few seconds. Each one feeling longer than the last.
• 20:56
  Then she stealed herself and accepted the call. I love my, my was in the car again. Heather could hear
• 21:03
  her starting the ignition. I'm just leading the hospital now. They didn't need me for long.
• 21:07
  Anyway, I was wondering if you got anything to eat in town, or whether you wanted tea at home.
• 21:11
  I'm thinking of doing a spag ball. Ma, Heather's voice was small. Her mother went on talking,
• 21:17
  probably not even hearing her. That's what I fancy. But if you want something else,
• 21:22
  I think we've got some leftover enchiladas in the fridge. Ma, Heather said again,
• 21:26
  loud at a more cleaniness time. There's something else. There's something I've got. She felt
• 21:31
  her voice crack. I've lost her, Ma. A dull clunk. Her mother was probably changing gears.
• 21:37
  Lost her, Heather. Heather felt tears trickle down her face. I've lost Lily.
• 21:43
  There was silence on the other end of the line. Heather braced herself for her mother's panic. Her
• 21:47
  mother's tears, her mother's blame. She expected each and all of those things. She did not, however,
• 21:55
  anticipate her mother's next words. Who's Lily?
• 22:03
  So, Grace, what made you write this story? Are you from Manchester?
• 22:07
  I am. I really will fancy, obviously, but I really will open the fantasy and the
• 22:18
  kind of the place where fancy bumps up against the real world. And I read a lot of that kind of
• 22:25
  stuff, but it's usually said in London or, you know, on Eric's foot. Yeah. But I'm never,
• 22:37
  I know if you're going to either come across what you're saying, Manchester, like,
• 22:41
  a specifically very, very obviously, Manchester City Centre in the surrounding areas.
• 22:48
  So, I wanted a story about that was set in that. And I also wanted to include some themes
• 22:57
  that sort of shine later with, you know, I think a few years ago when I wrote it, there was a rise
• 23:04
  in I feel like xenophobia towards immigrants and refugees. And suddenly, I don't think that's
• 23:12
  gone away, but there was with my two kind of main things when I set out to write this.
• 23:19
  Thank you, that's brilliant. Thank you.
• 23:23
  This is a circus fantasy story. Jack wants to be the first female ringmaster
• 23:28
  and Quinn wants to escape from his factory job to become a costume maker,
• 23:32
  and the way this creation is himself. In this extract, the two main characters cross paths to
• 23:37
  the first time. Jack's a seven. For two days, Quinn held the costume as invitation open-part.
• 23:47
  He looked at its sideline. In case examining it too closely revealed it to be just a dream,
• 23:53
  the apprenticeship. Well, that surely was a dream. And even if it weren't, Quinn knew the rules.
• 23:59
  People had their place. His place was clear. Boys' bodies were for war. Besides, if he wasn't allowed
• 24:06
  to help Mama at the dress shop, making commissions for the capital's well to do, there was no way he
• 24:11
  would be allowed to help bring a docio in the fairground, making costumes for circus performers.
• 24:17
  But the officers returned to the fairground. It tantalized him. At the factory, the droning of
• 24:23
  machinery lulled him into reverie. The sparks sent up by whirring steel transformed into flashes
• 24:29
  of shimmering silk. The circle of anima, glinting fiercely in the sunlight, streaming through the windows,
• 24:37
  was a performer suspended, golden purple, light and shadow. Quinn newsed on how he designed the
• 24:43
  performer's costume. The folds and falls of cloth needed to give the costume breath. Then he skipped
• 24:50
  and sashayed into contemplating the performance itself, a hoop spinning, airborne tumbling,
• 24:55
  the gold ever changing into the purple and back into the gold. Morgan! He roused and jerked his
• 25:02
  hand back, just in time to avoid it getting shredded on the spinning file. He's half-raced.
• 25:09
  Merciful anima boy, are you looking to lose a limb? The bullets he'd be holding to the file
• 25:15
  were shaving nearly clean through. He imagined the files searing through skin, muscle or bone instead.
• 25:22
  He trembled. Get a hold of yourself! The nearest line worker Zeke, he'd learned hissed.
• 25:28
  He'd been distracted for days. Remember, the foreman is always watching. Do you want to lose your job?
• 25:34
  On the walkway above, several soldiers looked their way in interest. Their numbers had been
• 25:38
  increasing steadily. None of them were his brother. But perhaps one day, he'd look up and see
• 25:43
  several in there. It was peacetime, after all. His brother could be assigned to a factory for
• 25:48
  guarding. I'm not a child. I know how to handle myself. Quinn wanted to say. But clearly, he didn't.
• 25:56
  That afternoon, he left the factory shaken and determined. He would be a better worker if he
• 26:01
  weren't distracted. He'd been a better worker when he'd had the tightrope. A brief escape,
• 26:06
  a way to sort himself out before the next day's work. Father likely wouldn't agree, but father
• 26:12
  wasn't around. He hastened to the fairground. In daydreaming of the costume as tent,
• 26:18
  Quinn had imagined watching Brigadotio at work, staying out of the man's way and studying the
• 26:23
  racks in silence, no touching, no talking, towing the line. But when Quinn arrived, the customer was
• 26:31
  not alone. He stopped short short in the tent's entrance. A girl stood before the standing mirror,
• 26:37
  dressed like a man in a loose shirt and black straight leg trousers. Quinn was struck by her
• 26:42
  long fall of hair, burnished brass, shining in the lamp light, like a sunlit river streaming.
• 26:49
  Looking at it, he could almost remember the softness of curls against his cheek, his neck,
• 26:54
  how he'd lifted his chin then. He dropped his hand from where he'd subconsciously lifted it to his head.
• 27:00
  His own hair was cropped criminally short. Hair of any length was a risk on the assembly line.
• 27:06
  Ah, Mr Morgan, Brigadotio said. The costumeer whisked his measuring tape around the girl's crown
• 27:13
  with finesse. I was hoping he'd be back. Come in. The girl's dark eyes flashed in the mirror.
• 27:19
  Quinn hesitated, I can come back. Nonsense, you're here now and chat doesn't mind.
• 27:25
  The girl looked like she very much did mind, but she kept quiet. Quinn stepped forward,
• 27:31
  allowing the tent flap to close behind him. As he did so, the girl turned to the costumeer and
• 27:35
  demanded. You have the measurement? At Brigadotio's nod, she pulled her lovely hair into a severe
• 27:42
  knot that tugged at the skin of her temples. It made her look extremely disagreeable,
• 27:47
  but Quinn suspected that was just her face.
• 27:51
  Sit or stand, wherever you like, Brigadotio directed. I'm just finishing up taking some measurements.
• 27:58
  Quinn chose a spot as far from Jack as possible. He watched as the costumeer. Today,
• 28:03
  dressed in a blank overrode, that would have looked quite stage when it not for the gold paint,
• 28:07
  covering his brown scalp, face and arms, deathly circled the girl's neck, bust, waste,
• 28:13
  and hips while she stood rigidly. I've asked Quinn to be my apprentice to help me with the
• 28:19
  revel, but alas, Brigadotio said, he's playing hard to get. Jack eyed Quinn through the mirror,
• 28:27
  doing a thorough study of him. He was acutely aware of how grubby and unkempt he was after a day
• 28:32
  at the factory. Why, she asked. Didn't sound like she cared one way or another. Quinn didn't really
• 28:39
  want to answer, but Brigadotio was silent, intent upon the girl's arm length, and the girl was
• 28:44
  raising an eyebrow. He shrugged aiming for nonshaws. I already have a job. Doing what?
• 28:53
  Jack asked in a lazy, disinterested tone. He answered as cool as possible. I filed imperfections
• 28:58
  of bullets. Her blank stare was eloquent in its disdain, and do you enjoy filing imperfections
• 29:05
  of bullets? The judgment in her voice made him bristle. It's an important work. I make sure the
• 29:12
  bullets fly true, which helps protect our soldiers against rebels, which aids in maintaining peace
• 29:17
  and contributes to rebellious and the king's glory. He paused, unable to believe the words
• 29:24
  coming out of his mouth. Father's words. Since when did he care about rebellious glory?
• 29:30
  Brigadotio, despite closed eyes, managed to convey great interest in the conversation. Jack
• 29:36
  impressed. You didn't answer my question. You're avoiding it. Her satisfied tone wrangled him.
• 29:44
  It's not that simple. It's not about enjoying. It's about contributing something of value to
• 29:49
  so you don't enjoy your job. She interrupted. Lucky you, you have another offer. It's not that simple
• 29:56
  Quinn repeated. Jack's lit curl. It is that simple. Quit a job you dislike. Take a job you'd
• 30:03
  enjoy. Do what you want. You foolish to do otherwise. Quinn couldn't believe the gaw of this
• 30:08
  girl. He wasn't judging her for her life choices, except like I trust the decision-making ability
• 30:16
  of someone who dresses as it coughed up by a mortuary. Are you going for the resurrected corpse
• 30:21
  with that hairstyle? Or is it just the happy accident? She bared her teeth. Before blood could
• 30:27
  be drawn, Brigadotio intervened. I'm done updating your measurements, who said earlier. Now, tell
• 30:32
  only about what you're thinking for this costume. Jack's scorching eyes slid from Queens to her own
• 30:37
  in the mirror. Without their heat on her, Queen shook himself. He wouldn't let this girl get to
• 30:42
  him and bring him down to her pettiness. He was an adult. Black trousers, Jack proclaimed. Suitable
• 30:49
  for fencing, black top hats, a red tailcoat with gold epilets and braiding. Bold and brassy.
• 30:56
  The costume has sounded pleased. Now, will this be for the audition or are you already anticipating
• 31:02
  the king's favour? He asked knowingly, the girl's thin lips curled in a smirk. It's good to be prepared,
• 31:09
  like some people I go after what I want. Don't stoop, Quinn told himself, breathing deeply to
• 31:15
  focus, don't lower yourself to her level. You feel confident then about the audition? Brigadotio
• 31:21
  asked. Primo will have to choose me. If he wants to be on the finest fair the world's ever seen,
• 31:27
  she said matter of factly. It took Quinn heroic effort not to roll his eyes.
• 31:32
  Ah, but I heard young William will be running the show, Brigadotio said. A shadow crossed Jack's
• 31:38
  expression, gone so quickly. Quinn wondered if he'd imagined it. Same thing, she waived a dismissive
• 31:44
  hand. As for astonishing the key, that won't be a problem. Yes, Quinn had imagined it. There were no
• 31:50
  cracks in this girl. He could just imagine what his father would have to say about her. Clearly
• 31:55
  delusional, out of touch with reality, a child. The thought made him straight and when Jack met his
• 32:01
  eyes in the mirror again, he offered a smirk of his own. Her gaze sharpened, she opened her mouth
• 32:06
  to speak. We're all done here then. Brigadotio clapped his hands, come back in three days and I'll
• 32:12
  show you what I've come up with. Jack's seen irritated at the clearest missile, but she nodded.
• 32:18
  Shock Quinn another glare and left the tent without a thank you or a goodbye.
• 32:23
  Quinn let out a deep breath. He marveled at how spacious the tent felt with her absence.
• 32:28
  I'm guessing she's one of the uppity prima donors you mentioned before.
• 32:33
  Brigadotio rumbled through the piles of calling on the table. Oh, she's a piece of work,
• 32:38
  I'll give you that. But she is talented, fighting an uphill baffer, though.
• 32:42
  At Quinn's frown, the costume were clarified. There's never been a female ringmaster in
• 32:47
  Revellous History. In all the edges, far as I know. Still, if anyone could make it happen,
• 32:52
  it would be her, I'd wager. If only she'd get out of her own way. As for you, Quinn
• 32:58
  startled to have the costume as full attention on him. For not being able to use his eyes,
• 33:04
  the man sure did know how to impress his focus on someone.
• 33:07
  For all my near perfection, I'm not a patient, man. I'll make my offer only once more. Come work for me.
• 33:19
  So, uh, Mac, thank you to you. I want you to write the very strange and enchanted story.
• 33:26
  First, thank you so much. That fantastic reading. It sounds better in your voice than it does in
• 33:32
  my head. So thank you for that. I was inspired, as you might imagine, by the circus. We have a really
• 33:39
  marvelous local troop that performs. And I also do some of the circus arts myself from the aerial
• 33:46
  silks to flying trapeze. And I really wanted to capture that feeling that I have whenever I'm at
• 33:52
  the circus, that feeling of wonder and awe, the feeling of being a child again. And especially
• 33:59
  since I wrote this during the pandemic, I really wanted to write something really hopeful about
• 34:06
  possibility and wonder. And to write about young people who, in a world that is trying to place
• 34:13
  all these demands on them, clinging to that hope and sense of possibility for themselves and their
• 34:18
  futures. So the very strange and enchanted came out of that. Thank you. That's wonderful. And I
• 34:25
  said it was the introduction and media. A caretaker of York, my pen hollan, a wonderful story about
• 34:36
  dragons of all shapes and sizes in York, but York as it might be in a future world or a parallel world.
• 34:42
  York is back to medieval levels of population. And this extract, Aaron, the local ask gets in a
• 34:48
  serious trouble thanks to the incomemer from the Sam. Thanks to media.
• 34:57
  Extract from chapter three. What was it your mother said when we were leaving this morning?
• 35:02
  Sam sent me a slightly too loudly. Uh, traveled safely. Aaron has it, I guess, having not really
• 35:09
  been paying attention in all the how lovely to see you again and the do make Aaron look after
• 35:14
  yous. Be careful near the forest, she said. Sandlead forward forward. Which forest?
• 35:20
  Aaron rolled her eyes. The action was becoming quite a habit when Sam was around. The forest, I said
• 35:26
  we wouldn't go in. Did you tell her you would get some amber carrier for the banquet? You really
• 35:32
  wanted to let her down. Sam was annoyingly persistent. I want, said Aaron. She rested her hands
• 35:39
  lightly on her trouser pockets. It's not necessary to go into the forest.
• 35:43
  Sam was also determined. Well, if you won't go, I will. She yanked on pony ones rains, pulling her
• 35:50
  sharply left and kicked her into a slow counter, disappearing into the undergrowth with scant care
• 35:55
  for her own or her trusty steed safety. Sam! Rascus rib cage. This was not how Aaron had planned
• 36:02
  the afternoon. She looked uneasy at the sky whose clear pala was being subsumed by a threatening
• 36:07
  deep purple on the west and horizon. No time to hang around. She jeered up her own pony and
• 36:12
  followed in Sam's wake, hunkering down low over the pony's hairy neck to go as fast as possible
• 36:18
  through scratchy thorn bushes and clinging sticky weed. Why in luck his name couldn't Sam have
• 36:24
  taken the track that lay a few minutes further to the south? At this rate, day and all the food
• 36:29
  they'd gathered earlier would be bruised beyond use. And Aaron knew exactly whose shoulders
• 36:33
  to place the blame on. Pony too kept up the breakneck speed for as long as she could and Aaron
• 36:39
  sustained herself with dark thoughts about what she wanted to do to her new friend when she eventually
• 36:44
  caught up. It felt like an age. Later she concluded it was only ten minutes or so.
• 36:49
  As whip-called branches with vicious barbs started to lash at her head and neck,
• 36:53
  Pony too stretched out her nose and Aaron grabbed pony ones rains with white knuckles,
• 36:59
  thanking the gods of fire and ice both that Sam hadn't given into Provado in elected for
• 37:03
  bearback riding after all. They started to a halt in the lee of a spiny black trunk and breathed.
• 37:11
  Strands of thin sunlight edged through the canopy, like apologies, casting strange shadows
• 37:17
  across the spongy bear forest floor. In a matter of meters, all the joyful verdant greenery was gone,
• 37:23
  replaced with clusters of dark-horned pillars rising into the sky with spiked branches of
• 37:29
  uncomfortable intervals, fanning out like fingers reaching out to each other. Aaron wondered,
• 37:35
  or to anyone who entered the forest, she shivered. Sam slid off her pony and took a few tentative
• 37:41
  steps furthering, carefully not looking back at Aaron. Please don't, please don't, please don't.
• 37:48
  Everyone wanted to shout at the top of her voice, but swallowed the words down before they could burst
• 37:52
  out of her mouth. In here, noise was not a thing to make likely. Distant thunder rumbled
• 37:58
  faintly into the woods on a gentle breeze, rustling what passed for leaves on those crooked branches
• 38:04
  with an eerie, subdued clatter. Sam looked up and gasped. Look! Far above their heads, tiny
• 38:11
  amber-carrier crystals trembled, projecting tiny brilliant rainbows onto the treetops that danced
• 38:17
  merrily in the wind. It's beautiful, whispered Sam, turning circles with her face in the sky.
• 38:24
  Need to go, Aaron said under her breath, holding tight onto pony ones rains and keeping a reassuring
• 38:30
  hand on pony twos, a furry flank. Now, almost without warning, the older girl threw herself
• 38:37
  at the nearest tree and started to climb rapidly, even as the rough spiky bug ripped at her hands and
• 38:42
  knees, and the sharp, widely spaced out branches pulled at her hair and scratched at her body.
• 38:48
  Impatiently, she shrugged off her thick jacket and threw it to the ground, determined to reach
• 38:53
  the fairy-like droplets of treasure downing above her head. Without incumbrance, she flew up the
• 38:58
  blunt branches like a squirrel up a ladder. Even in a wash of impending doom, Aaron appreciated
• 39:03
  her skill. Nonetheless, get down! Aaron said, hissing the words as loud as she dead, get down now!
• 39:11
  Sam ignored her, or perhaps she didn't hear anything in her frenzy to reach riches.
• 39:16
  She grasped the handful of the delicate amber-carrier teardrops and crowed in triumph.
• 39:22
  So high up in the canopy now that the sound reverberated far across the treetops.
• 39:26
  Aaron's heart dropped. She slid off her pony and bent down to pick up the jacket, falling
• 39:31
  it slowly as she waited for Sam to descend the tree. Halfway down, three quarters.
• 39:37
  The lowest branch was higher than Aaron could reach with her fingertips.
• 39:41
  What was the best way down? She clicked her tongue quietly at pony one,
• 39:45
  maneuvering him calmly into position under the tree for a quick getaway.
• 39:50
  A jubilant sand teeted on the spines of the bottom branch.
• 39:53
  High on adrenaline, one hand still clutching her prize, a glorious handicap on her balance.
• 39:59
  Drop it! Aaron whispered, do it, drop it, or you'll never make the landing!
• 40:05
  Out at the corner of her eye, she saw the snow-links creeping towards them.
• 40:11
  Two were on the ground, silent feet padding carefully, deliberately closer,
• 40:16
  one in the trees, that one would be slower. All of them were staring fixately at the human
• 40:21
  invader and her equine friends. It wasn't a friendly look. Aaron looked around in vain for a weapon,
• 40:28
  but there were no fixed sticks or gnarly clubs, only discarded leaf spikes of decaying amber,
• 40:33
  gold, and a thick layer of humus. I'm not dropping it! Sam said loudly, her tenuous grip on the rough
• 40:41
  trunk slipped, and she fell heavily onto pony one, who staggered but held fast,
• 40:45
  steadied by Aaron's firm clasp of his halter. Somehow Sam got her free hand to the pommel before
• 40:51
  she could tumble head over heels over the pony altogether and pulled herself up excitedly,
• 40:56
  holding out the jewels. We're rich! I can go home! You could stromp home on a bicycle!
• 41:02
  The monstrous snow-links yelled a terrible cry. It's tough to ears taught,
• 41:06
  it's massive white-body crouching between dinner plate-sized paws. Combined with the noise,
• 41:12
  the stench from its gaping wall was too much. Both ponies wretched away from Aaron and bolted for
• 41:17
  home, saddlebags flapping wildly, Sam could do nothing but hold on for dear life, clutching her
• 41:23
  precious cargo to her chest. Aaron watched them go with her feet rooted to the ground. She should run
• 41:29
  too. She looked at the edge of the forest, but it was too far and she was too small. She'd never
• 41:33
  make it. She looked at the nearest big cat as it growled at the back of its cavernous throat.
• 41:40
  Huge eyes still fixed on her. Another padded up to its flank,
• 41:44
  jewels dripping with insatiable intent. Where was the one in the branches now? Should she run
• 41:50
  anyway? Every fiber of her being was screaming silently for help, yet she couldn't even move her
• 41:56
  legs. How utterly useless was that? Doing nothing ran contrary to Aaron's every life breath,
• 42:03
  but all she could do now was sink slowly down to the ground, holding the sock leather jacket in front
• 42:08
  of her, while the world's most useless shield and weight to meet her end.
• 42:13
  Okay, Penn, we know how this goes. What brought you to write this story? Are you from
• 42:22
  York? I suppose this is the first question people might want to know. Not from York, but I've lived
• 42:27
  in York for all my adult life just about. And I started writing this during the pandemic
• 42:34
  because my daughter had run out of books and she said write me a story. And I started writing and
• 42:40
  she thought I would finish it in one night. And it was just such an escape being in an altar that
• 42:46
  you're where I could make it through anything I wanted. So it went on for a bit longer than one night.
• 42:55
  But we're very fond of dragons in our house and we're very fond of York and particularly
• 43:01
  the places that most people don't see because they don't look up and they don't look in.
• 43:07
  And so it all kind of came together from there. And in your honour, of course, we have a dragon
• 43:13
  with us tonight, who is guarding his or her egg, I think. So last but definitely not least
• 43:26
  is we've a cartoon story. Don't go out after dark. It's definitely a tale for Halloween,
• 43:34
  a past approaching, weaving in the ghost stories of Bangladesh culture. I return to that country
• 43:40
  to visit family after the sodden death of Haftar's father becomes an even more terrifying
• 43:47
  affair than anyone expected. So prepare to be scared. This is an extract from chapter 2,
• 43:55
  a rival at the family home in Bangladesh. The vehicle doors slid open from the outside
• 44:02
  and a sea of all stricken and smiling faces peered inside the vehicle. Sasa jumped out of his
• 44:08
  seat and ran around the outside of the vehicle. Haftar twisted in her seat to look at Bismar
• 44:13
  who had climbed onto Manzal. Sasa parted the onlookers before opening the middle door and
• 44:18
  holding out a hand to Archmed and then one to Haftar. With one arm around each sibling, he guided
• 44:24
  them towards the archway of thin, bendy trees at the end of the road and into a large courtyard
• 44:28
  flanked either sides of by coxes of trees. Haftar spotted a few mango trees in the midst,
• 44:34
  the ripe green fruits hanging like crystals on appendent. Haftar's eyes wandered over to the two
• 44:40
  rows of buildings on opposite sides. The ones on the left were basic wooden huts, with the endore
• 44:46
  open and straw spilling out onto the courtyard. The hind legs of a cow extended out. Bismar would be
• 44:51
  happy. The buildings on the right side were higher than ground level, with a covered veranda and
• 44:57
  reached by stairs. Made out of concrete blocks, these were presumably the living quarters. Haftar
• 45:02
  turned round to look for Mung, who was right behind Bismar and a group of kids. Mung stopped to
• 45:07
  stroke their faces and pat their heads in reply to their greetings. Sasa pulled her gently by the
• 45:13
  hand. Come on Hoingya, it's Margaret time. You shouldn't be outside after dark. He scanned the
• 45:19
  surrounding area and narrowed his eyes at the cops of trees. Haftar hesitated. Should she tell him
• 45:25
  of the thing she had seen tonight? Probably not. She didn't know him at all. As anxious as she was
• 45:31
  in this new place, she didn't want to be restricted by a ton of rules, as she was also a tiny bit
• 45:37
  excited to see where dad grew up. Birds called out to each other from amongst the treetops. A dull bird
• 45:44
  settled on the branch of a battle palm, lifted its white tail and whistled. Jack fruit trees and
• 45:49
  even a bay leaf tree dotted the outskirts of the courtyard. The edges were boarded by giant
• 45:55
  screens of vegetation blossoming with flowers and vegetables such as green beans and snake beans.
• 46:01
  Haftar took a deep breath in savoring the aroma of vegetation. It was like being in dad's greenhouse.
• 46:07
  No wonder he had green fingers. He grew up here. A black goat emerged from the bushes,
• 46:13
  suddenly causing her to jump. A titter of laughter spread around her, increasing when a rumble erupted
• 46:19
  from the back end of the goat. Haftar was more interested in not stepping in all the puddles of
• 46:23
  burp who on the ground. Was it only a fortnight ago that she'd been walking beside her dad at the
• 46:28
  sandwell valley park, swinging a bag of bird food in her hand and weaving around blobs of
• 46:33
  geestroppings? And now she was doing the exact very thing in Bangladesh, minus her dad. Her heart
• 46:41
  crats a little bit more. Is this how it was going to be for the rest of her life? That memories
• 46:47
  would pop up out of anywhere and each time it would hurt her deeply. Haftar, overwhelmed with sadness,
• 46:53
  could only that drag her feet forwards, leaving a trail in the dirt. Just one step at a time,
• 46:59
  she told herself. There was a tube well on the right side of the courtyard. The floor surrounding
• 47:05
  it was wet and elderly man pumped the handle of the tube well and water splashed into the plastic
• 47:10
  bucket below. Some water mist enjoyed the growing pool on the floor. Sasa led them around it
• 47:16
  and the growing crowd stopped at the stairs. On the veranda, a hen and her chicks were scratching
• 47:21
  at the floor in the corner while a toddler tried to scoop up a chick without much success. A series
• 47:27
  of open doors along the veranda spilled faint lights out onto the straw-stroon floor.
• 47:34
  Sasa led them through the first door. Haftar banged her arm onto the metal door,
• 47:38
  propped open with a brick and rubbed her funny bone. The small room they entered was crudely
• 47:42
  plastered and furnished with a wooden floor poster bed, steel cabinet, clothes rail and a table.
• 47:49
  In the dark corner, a shadow stirred. Haftar made out the outline of a person.
• 47:55
  She tried to calm her breathing as she remembered the woman from the airport.
• 47:59
  When an elderly woman leaned forward into the light, Haftar relaxed. The woman got
• 48:04
  up slowly and shuffled into the middle of the room using a walking stick. I told you, never show
• 48:10
  your face here again. It was proof of Dad's elder sister. The hard-looking her eyes made Haftar
• 48:17
  shudder. What did she mean? Why would Dad's sister treat them like this? Haftar stared at her
• 48:23
  mum for an explanation, but the colour had drained from mum's face. When she looked to upman
• 48:28
  standing on the side with Bismar, he shrugged his shoulders and whispered, what's going on?
• 48:33
  Now it was Haftar's turn to shrug. She had no idea. Suddenly Fufu charged forwards,
• 48:39
  her stick banging on the floor with each swerge she shouted, you were warned about the consequences,
• 48:47
  if you stepped foot in her home again. She raised her walking stick and thrust it towards Haftar.
• 48:55
  Instinctively Haftar closed her eyes, expecting the walking stick to come into contact with
• 49:00
  her shoulder, but nothing. She felt a rush of air as the walking stick missed her and then a whiff
• 49:05
  of the rotten meat smell from the airport shot up her nose, making her gag. She opened her eyes
• 49:11
  as an eerie cackle sounded behind her, sending a shiver down her spine. With her heart hammering
• 49:17
  in her chest, Haftar turned around slowly and came face to face with the creepy lady from the
• 49:23
  airport. Hello, grand daughter, it's finally nice to meet you. So, Reba, tell us a little bit about
• 49:36
  why you've written such a scary story. I love horror. Horror stories, I love it and I remember reading
• 49:44
  you know these phones, or a sign and that feeling that joy of reading those books never went away.
• 49:50
  And this particular story there are, because I've been to Bangladesh and I've had the same rules,
• 49:55
  doggo out of the dog, and then you ask why, why, why, why. They won't tell you it's a later,
• 49:59
  I did my own mix of horror and then I found out all these stories and then asked friends and
• 50:04
  family and everyone's, everybody's got a story that they know someone or someone's one who's
• 50:09
  seen a witch or you know like to you or not something so I just I thought we're lovely too.
• 50:16
  What my story. So, when we announced the winner, I want to say before that point that all of us
• 50:23
  loved all the stories and if we could give five prizes away, we would have done that.
• 50:29
  And we were so impressed that we, Cristobal and I have put together a sample of everybody's work
• 50:35
  plus a little bio and your photograph. So, it's not over this evening, we'll also be sending this
• 50:41
  to agents or make sure Alice gets one. So, that hopefully we have more than one winner tonight.
• 50:50
  So, we had to choose one person and it was a really hard choice, but we wanted everybody at this
• 50:57
  stage to know that in our eyes you're all winners and we do wish you well after this.
• 51:03
  We all have a bit of fizz here, but depending on your time zone, you can choose your dreams,
• 51:12
  but yeah, I just want to ankle what the other judges say. It was such a privilege to
• 51:16
  read these stories and it's such impressive writing. It was very hard choice, but we understand
• 51:22
  all of you are engaged with the center going forward. So, great things to come. Anyway,
• 51:27
  I have an envelope here that says winner. Drum roll, please.
• 51:35
  The winner is Amy Bryant.
• 51:37
  Well, thank you so much. I'm really amazed.
• 51:54
  Yeah, what time is it there in New Zealand, are you?
• 51:58
  8.30 in the morning, so don't worry about it.
• 52:01
  You have to go out and celebrate in your own way, but don't be very impressed and we've got
• 52:06
  very high hopes for you, so bye then. Thank you so much.
• 52:16
  Thanks for listening to MythMakers Podcast, brought to you by the Oxford Center for Fantasy.
• 52:23
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• 52:30
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• 52:35
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