Congratulations to all those who participated in our annual Christmas Short Stories contest, a 40-year tradition at . We had fewer writers this year, comprised of 91 in the under 18s and 31 from adults, totalling 122.

Cash prizes were presented in each of two categories: Under 18s and adults. The winners in each section received $300 and the runner-up $200. Two special awards of $100 went to young authors of stories showing exception promise.

Several honourable mentions were also given.

This year?s judges were The stories had specific criteria to be met, such as the theme of Christmas in Bermuda, Bermuda references, no story should exceed 1500 words, and all manuscripts must be typed.

All of the judges made comments. Ms Stovell said: ?The stories in this year?s competition were a particular delight to read. As always I am especially fond of the entries in the children?s category and am a bit disheartened this year that we could not have more winners in this section.

?tale of finding her grandfather on Christmas night was a heart-warming story with good pace and stuck to the Bermuda theme very well.

?crafted a poignant story in her ?Peter?s Christmas Miracle? while entered an extremely interesting and entertaining piece. He story ? ?A Bermudaful Christmas? was about a young girl spending Christmas in Bermuda for the first time. Written in the first person it was effective and may have been her actual experience.

?Reading through all the entries I thought none captured the spirit better than . In his ?Christmas Spirit? he said: ?Christmas is a time for giving and generosity and getting that glow of warmth you get when you bring happiness to someone?s life.

?Christmas is a time to celebrate the warm, generous side of humanity. It?s a time to spend with the ones we love, and a time to bring a smile to someone?s face. Even if it?s only one person, it makes the world that much of a better place.??

Ms Mallon said: ?Judging this competition is always a joy. The standard of writing was very high, especially in the children?s section and we had a tough time trying to pick the winners. It was refreshing to see that many of the children?s stories had not been tampered with too much by overeager parents and you could feel the children?s voices loud and clear.

?The adult winner,, deserves a special mention as it was fact paced, funny, and the characters leapt off the page at you. I loved the high maintenance girlfriend who wanted a man who could keep her, and the great twist at the end. Well done to all entrants and keep on writing and we will continue to enjoy reading all the entries every year.?

Colin Thompson said: ?Students at Somersfield Academy and Clearwater Middle School put in tremendous efforts. Enormous effort and detail was applied to the stories and judging by the level of creativity, I can safely say Bermuda has some potentially great writers in the making.

?Of course, there can only be one winner. In my book, everyone who participated in the contest was a winner and I strongly encourage all those who made the effort to submit entries to keep trying and never give up.?

As for my comments, one of the most creative stories was written by a talented adult, Patricia Rae Barboza, ?The Hogge?s Homecoming? was the runner-up story touching on the history of ?hogges? in Bermuda. Her characters were fanciful and funny and it was about helping the Bermuda Masterworks Foundation.

Synopsis of all the stories:

Under 18s:14, wrote, ?One Wish? which was a well-written sensitive story about a ten year old boy and his dog, J, a Wheaton Terrier. J dies and it is around Christmas time and much sadness is in the home. Then the boy opens up a Christmas present and it is a new puppy. At first he is upset that his family could think J could ever be replaced and he retreats. Later in the afternoon the new pup follows him everywhere and the boy believes that J?s soul was inside the new pup and he names the pup, JJ. They bond and in a way he feels he has his dog back.12, wrote, ?Santa in Bermuda?. While Santa and the reindeer were on their way to North Carolina Santa noticed Rudolph?s red nose went out. The nearest place to land was Bermuda and they landed on top of the roof of Robinson?s Marina Gas Station in Sandy?s Parish. Santa has a lot of adventures including riding a moped around Bermuda. He finds a pony and off they trot. After a rest Rudolph and his red nose were fine and off they went! wrote: ?Christmas Sapphire?. This is a touching story about a close family of a mother, father and daughter. The parents are in an accident at Somerset Bridge due to the father missing a stray dog. The father died and the mother had a loss of memory. Her happy family was shattered. Later the little girl meets a stray dog that leads her to the bridge where the accident happened. He barks at something in the water, her mother?s Sapphire. She names the little mutt, Sapphire and later she gives the ring to her mother and her memory of the ring returns and at the end of the day her mother makes Christmas dinner. wrote: ?Quick and Slick?s Christmas Adventures in Bermuda?. This is a very Bermudian tale about two mischievous little skinks named Quick and Slick. They attend the Annual Christmas Boat Parade as they sit at Albouy?s Point. They have various adventures and a week later they attend the traditional Bermuda Christmas Parade. Quick lands on the hat of a majorette. Later they fall into a trashed bottle that is eventually kicked by a human and they climb out. At Christmas, they find a little cottage with delicious foods like cassava pie, baked turkey and pound cake and all is well that ends well.

Three Honourable Mentions Under 18:wrote: ?A Lesson on Christmas? about two 12-year-old girls who attend Warwick Academy who choose a community service for the holiday. They learn the real reason for Christmas and the story of Jesus. They also learn about a man called Nicholas who loved to help children. In Germany he was called Clause (sounds like Klows) and now is known a Santa Clause. wrote: ?The Christmas Wish? which is a great story of Bermuda Xmas spirit and very timely and even features the Premier. A little girl, Chantal, sees Santa at Trimingham?s and makes a wish that her father and all the people who lost jobs because of Hurricane Fabian get them back. Alex Scott comes to the rescue on Christmas morning with gifts and a tray with a turkey and all the fixings.

7, wrote: ?Daly?s Christmas Adventures? about a reindeer who was seven years old and lived at the North Pole. He was too young to pull Santa?s sleight at Christmas but had dreams of travelling the world. He slips away to the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo with Teddy the tortoise and later Santa rescues Daly and takes him home.

, wrote: ?One Wish for Christmas? and this story features a young black males just turned 21. Just before Christmas he was fired from the BTC. He goes beach walking and finds a shiny piece of metal. It is a gift of the sea given to one person every 100 years. An old man appears and explains the metal to him.

wrote: ?The Hogge?s Homecoming?, a fanciful tale about two little girls? granny who collects a life-sized, unpainted, white Fiberglas ?Hogge? offered by the Bermuda Masterworks Foundation. Later the enchanted ?Hogge? comes alive and starts talking to Phoenix, one of the girls. The hogge tells the history of hogges in Bermuda and how the cedars protected them and the other animals.

Two Adult Honourable Mentions:wrote: ?A Christmas Tree in a Christmas Storm? is a delightful tale of how a the littlest tree, a Casuarina makes a huge impact when strange weather happens. This tree is the only survivor of a vicious storm and it was happy to be alive! wrote: ?Treefrog Surprise? about a small boy who finds a cute little tree frog chirping behind the garbage can. The boy brought the tiny frog into his festive home and placed him on one of the branches of the Christmas Tree. The next morning when Mama opened her present the little frog leapt off the present onto his Mama?s night shift and gave her a scare. They all have a laugh and the little frog is set free.

We hope you enjoy reading these lively stories as you enjoy your holiday season.