For the second time this year, Panodyssey and Book Magazine organised a writing competition, where a total of 166 submissions were received. The winners were selected by the current Panodyssey ambassadors, Réka Borda and Noé Tibor Kiss.

This time, Judit Szőnyi, Sára Gáspár, and István Margetin won the creative writing competition of Panodyssey and its Hungarian partner Book Magazin (in collaboration with Pro Progressione). It was the second edition of the competition, which was open to authors whose work has not yet been published commercially. The competition, entitled "A Walk in Spaces, in Stories," invited short prose works reflecting on the theme and received 166 entries by the June 30 deadline, with the winners selected by Panodyssey ambassadors Réka Borda and Tibor Noé Kiss.

The first prize was awarded to Judit Szőnyi for her entry Mos Eisley, about which Réka Borda wrote the following in her laudation: "On the surface, the short story is about a fake betrayal, but deeper down, it depicts a far-too-toxic affair that culminates in a move." The second prize went to Sara Gáspár and her text Hot Girl Walk, which, according to Tibor Noé Kiss, "is full of original images, good sentences, and confidently incorporates Tinder, prosecco, and Britney Spears' Work Bitch song into the text without any mania. "Third place was awarded to István Margetin, whose "short story Design Mistake, for example, allows us to explore his new residence at a slow but pleasant pace, which gives us a glimpse into the world of panel neighbourhoods, which is both oppressive and attractive," says Réka Borda, the judge who praised the work.

The awards were presented on Monday evening at Tompa17 Café. The first prize was 150.000 HUF, the second 100.000 HUF, and the third 50.000 HUF. The shortlisted entries will be published only in Hungarian on this site, but the winning works will be translated and published on the Book Magazin website.

Discmlaimer: The above article is the English translation of the original Hungarian article published on Book Magazin.

Photo taken by Gábor Valuska.