1. By The River - Upeksha Herath
2. A PARADISE MISPLACED - Elmo Jayawardena
3. Missiya, the Wild One - Vijita Fernando
4. Aftermath - Dasith Sean Wijesiriwardena
5. Escape - Vraie Balthazaar
6. A dance... - Hemakumar Nanayakkara
7. Untold Story - Chamila Unwin
8. The queen of the night - Hemakumar Nanayakkara
9. The four-letter word - Srimathie Fernando
10. A Great Loss - Upeksha Herath

by Unicorn

He sits by the roadside in the scorching hot sun,

Waiting for kindness, from the heart of anyone.

Silent, quiet, voiceless, no words said in vain.

Dark eyes weary, full of misery and pain.

He scrambles on deformed limbs, crawling in the dust,

To take an offering thrown by a hand outthrust.

A Beggar, vagrant, outcast from society,

A destitute man, searching for humanity.

A child of God is he, like all the others.

Discarded, exiled by sisters and brothers.

People scurry past him hauling their daily load,

Still he sits patiently by the side of the road.

› Making Crime Pay: an evening with Ian Rankin

UK’s number 1 bestselling crime writer Ian Rankin will be featured at Park Street Mews on Tuesday 2 February at 7.00 pm. Click here to win free tickets to this event.

› Macmillan Education Innovative Writing Award

The award gives previously unpublished writers the opportunity to win a £1,000 prize and have their work published.

› WriteClique celebrates 5 years with a creative writing workshop by Louise Doughty

WriteClique.net together with the British Council will give WriteClique members a once in a lifetime chance to be tutored one-on-one by Louise Doughty, a leading UK author for a period of three months, absolutely free.