Our 2026 winner
Grown-up Handwriting by Joyce Bingham
What our judges said:
“This beautifully tender story demonstrated how to build layered and intriguing worldbuilding into a deceptively quiet, yet pivotal moment in a character’s life. A wonderful story, very well told, that will stay with me for some time. “
—Lorraine Wilson
“With richly imagined world-building cleverly suggested this story, built round a single, weighty moment, had so much to say both about women’s role in the preservation and growth of society and the importance of passing on real as opposed to artificial intelligence.”
—Simon Spanton-Walker
Joyce Bingham is a Scottish writer, living in the North-West of England, whose work has appeared in publications such as Sci-Fi shorts, Flash Frog, WestWord, Molotov Cocktail, Bending Genres, and Ghost Parachute. When she’s not writing, she puts her green fingers to use as a plant whisperer and Venus fly trap wrangler.
Runners-up
Hot Property by George Prew-Stell
“A very clever and entirely convincing reimagining of dragons, this story was thought provoking, deft, and told with a lovely light humour. “
—Lorraine Wilson
“What appeared at first glance to be little more than a fun idea actually carried a clever critique of the whole idea of cultural theft and preservation. Light on its feet and full of slyly on point satire. Lovely and informative details helped to flesh the idea out while lending the point weight.”
—Simon Spanton-Walker
Inside the Hulks by R.M. McRitchie
“I hugely admired the worldbuilding scope of this clever twist on a post-apocalyptic tale. An intriguing and unsettling glimpse into something deep and tangled that I could have spent a lot more time in.” Lorraine Wilson
“The story’s power came from its ability to pack in a huge amount of world-building and vast implication into its hints around our encounter with aliens into a single fraught and claustrophobic conversation.” Simon Spanton-Walker
Highly commended
Gap Year Roon The Galaxy by S A McQuilken
“This story was just such immense fun! A wonderfully rendered voice that swept the reader along with humour and subtle pathos to a perfectly poignant finale. “
—Lorraine Wilson
”The story’s vivid and successful use of the narrator’s dialect crystallised the important points it wanted to make about how progress and opportunity is unfairly handed out however advanced and technological a society is.”
—Simon Spanton-Walker
A word from Head Judge Noel Chidwick, Editor in Chief of Shoreline of Infinity:
“As we’ve found over the years since we started this annual competition back in 2019, the standard across all the entries was high, and made the task to select winners was again a tough challenge. And with so many themes and approaches too – from new twists to the Selkies myths, to taking a gap year around the galaxies, it’s all here. Scottish SFF&H is proving to be as strong, diverse and imaginative as ever. Roll on 2027.
With grateful thanks to our judges, Simon Spanton-Walker and Lorraine Wilson, and Ann Landmann who maintained order.
Thanks go to all the entrants. And a final congratulation to Joyce Bingham, R.M. McRitchie, George Prew-Stell and S A McQuilken.
And a wee special thanks to our artist, James Abell, who has produced two wonderful illustrations with a week in which to work.
The winning story is published in Shoreline of Infinity 40, which is available in the Creators Hall over the festival weekend, or online here.
The longlist
Soulstream – Anna Ziemons-McLean
Black Rain – Annemarie Allan
How to Stay Positive at the End of the World – Beth Tianxin Xia
Pre-Loved – Elizabeth Prew-Stell
Mele Kalikimaka From Da Bus – Elizabeth Ross
Hot Property – George Prew-Stell
Into the Den – Ian Hunter
Grown-up Handwriting – Joyce Bingham
The Moss in the Forest Sings – Kit Calvert
The Pavilion in the Sky – Meghan Ellis
Inside the Hulks – R.M. McRitchie
Gap Year Roon the Galaxy – S A McQuilken
Tiger, Tiger – Stephen Connolly
They Watch me Through Glass Walls – Thomas Welsh