Writing

For updates regarding awards and published works, see below.

Winner of the Oxford-BNU Award in Creative Writing (2023)

My short story, ‘On the Road to Nagorno-Karabakh’, won first prize in the second Oxford-BNU Creative Writing Award, which was founded by Mo Yan (Nobel Prize laureate) and judged by Boyd Tonkin (FRSL and chair of the judging panel of the Man Booker International Prize 2016), Anna Beer (Author of ‘Eve Bites Back‘), Liz Trubridge (Executive Producer of Downton Abbey), Lynn Robson and David Bunn (Regent’s Park College). I spoke to Trinity College about the award.

‘On the Road to Nagorno-Karabakh’ will be published alongside the other winning short stories from the first two years of the prize by The Oxford Prospects and Global Development Institute in 2023.

Winner of the Loft Books Short Story Competition (2022)

My short story, ‘Omar the Shopkeeper’, won Loft Books’ Short Story Competition (2022) and was published in the Loft Books Anthology Issue 3 (page 47-54).

First Runner-up in the Oxford-BNU Award in Creative Writing (2021)

My magical realism short story, ‘The Most Beautiful Ship in the World’, won first runner-up in the inaugural Oxford-BNU Creative Writing Award, which was founded by Mo Yan (Nobel Prize laureate) and judged by Boyd Tonkin (FRSL and chair of the judging panel of the Man Booker International Prize 2016), Liz Trubridge (Executive Producer of Downton Abbey), Lynn Robson and David Bunn (Regent’s Park College). I spoke to Trinity College about the award.

‘The Most Beautiful Ship in the World’ will be published, alongside the other winning short stories, by The Oxford Prospects and Global Development Institute in 2023.

First Runner-up in The Oxford Research Centre for the Humanities (TORCH)’s Short Story Competition (2020)

My Flash Fiction short story, ‘Albert’, about a talking dog – well, it’s about a bit more than that – came first runner-up in TORCH’s inaugural flash fiction competition. You can read the story here.

Judge’s comments:

“‘Albert’, by Rowan Curtis, deftly paired machine-learning and AI with an exploration of animal consciousness to ask pertinent questions about what is means to be human.”

Odd Voice Out Short Story Competition (2020)

My short story, ‘Piano Wire’, was shortlisted for the Odd Voice Out (OVO) short story competition. Read it on Kindle, buy it in paperback or review it on Goodreads. I also spoke to OVO about the story in an author interview.

Review:

Sarah Fairbairn – “Contemporary. The story of a Syrian girl’s life from having a peaceful and happy family life to hiding out alone in war ravaged ruins to overcrowded refugee camps to starting a new life in the UK. A Heart breaking but absolutely beautiful story. I’d love to see this story explained on and turned into a full-length novel. 5/5 Stars.”