A filmmaker and novelist’s 50-word story about his grandmother won the top prize in the Library Shop SD’s ninth annual Matchbook Story Contest.
Edmond Pang Ho-cheung’s winning entry — a story short enough to fit on the inside of a matchbook — was announced Thursday night at the Shorties Awards:
“Don’t rub your eyes too hard, my grandmother said. Ghosts are everywhere—if their spiritual frequency matches yours, you will see them. Rubbing your eyes too hard will create that frequency. But I rubbed my eyes harder than usual, maybe if our frequency matches, I’ll see my grandmother once again.”
Ho-cheung, who lives in Canada, was not present to accept his award but sent an acceptance letter to Library Foundation SD, which operates the library shop.
Ho-cheung’s IMDb profile describes him as “a Hong Kong writer-director whose work blends sharp social observation, dark humor, and emotional realism. Widely regarded as one of the leading voices of modern Hong Kong cinema, his films explore contemporary urban life with wit and empathy.” His films include “Isabella,” Trivial Matters” and “Love in a Puff.”
The limited-edition matchbook will be for sale in January at both of the Library Shop SD’s locations — inside the Central Library in downtown San Diego, as well as the new storefront in Mission Hills, which recently took over the neighborhood’s old city library branch. The story will also join the display of matchbook winners inside the Central Library’s Hervey Family Rare Book Room.
At the incredibly short awards ceremony last week, members of Write Out Loud SD also read the top 10 entries from this year’s competition, including those of Steven Montgomery, who had two stories make the final cut.
Nearly 250 writers submitted entries this year that were judged by a panel of past winners. The contest raised nearly $5,000 for the Library Foundation SD, through $5 entry fees and a triple-match donation by foundation Trustee Judith Wenker.