and the winner is . . .

The winner of the  Minds Shine Bright s bi-annual Writing Competition Confidence is Helen Booth from Anglesea in Victoria for her short story  Drift. The author will receive $1600 and her story will be published in Confidence 2 Minds Shine Bright Anthology, featuring stories poems and scripts from forty winning and commended writers.

There were four category winners who will each receive $800. The winner of the Poetry prize was Valerie Wallace from Michigan City in Indiana for Carnelvarium. The winner of the Short Story prize was Dan Micklethwaite from Yorkshire, Great Britain for Blackpool Solo. The winner of the Flash fiction prize was Kathryn Le Mon from Columbus, Ohio for When I am the Wolf  and the winner of the Script prize was Grace Keller from Dallas Texas. 

The Minds Shine Bright Announcement of Winners and Award Celebration was held today. Writers and poets gathered online from time zones that ranged from dawn to after midnight to hear the winners announced and to read their stories, poems and scripts on the theme of confidence. Online and in person launches for Confidence 2 will be held in May.

The Shortlist

Poetry

Molly Dunn, Booroolite, Victoria, Aust, Drawing on Nature

Jennifer Harrison, Seattle, Washington, US, Daughters

Jonathan Chibuike Ukah, London, GB, The Smile

Helen Dosedel, St Bonifacius, Minnesota, US, Fragile Moments

Josiane Smith, London, GB, The Stitching Circle

Jonathan Greenhause, Jersey City, NJ, US, Gender Inequality on 19^th century Minnesota Farmland

Jonathan Greenhause, Jersey City NJ, US, These Sensory Changes

Leone Gabrielle, Seymour, VIC, Aust, Messenger          

Sharmaine Gray, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Vantage point

Susan  Y. Hoffman, Madison, Wisconsin, US, The Plunge

Alicia Sometimes, Carnegie, VIC, Aust, Robes of Darkest Blue

Shoshanna Rockman, Elsternwick, VIC, Aust, Caravan Therapy

Short Story

JM Thomson, Burragate, NSW, Aust, Judgement Day

 Tamra Palmer, Marrickville, NSW, Aust, Rising

Catalina Steriu, Bucharest, Romania, Under the indifferent rain

Evi Ruhle, Melbourne, VIC, Aust, Reviving Angelo

Caitlin Mahony, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Aust, Puncture

Zofia Kuypers, Kingsford, NSW, Aust, The things we tell ourselves

Deirdre Barragry, Dublin, Ireland, Nasti Pesto

Max Riddington, Dorset, UK, Twin tub

Rylan Rafferty, Los Angeles, California, US, Mop Walks Into a Bar

Maile Juarez, New York, US, The Ocean

Bob Topping, Kooralbyn, Queensland, Aust, Indecent Defeat

Ciara Blum, Fingal Head, NSW, Aust, Realer than real

Katy Massey, Brighton, GB, UK, Venetian Glass 

Kym Tyzack, Leopold, VIC, Aust, Motherlove                                

Hannah Brown, Tokyo, Japan, When Winter Went

Emily Robertson, Pinjarra, Western Australia, Aust, Heartbeat

Andrea McMahon, Moonah, Tasmania, Aust, A Fine Matriarch

Matthew Pitt, Fort Worth, Texas, Lifting the Pall

M K Brake, Massachusetts, US, Uvula: A Love Story

Flash Fiction

Jaz Ward, Darley, Victoria, Aust, A Woman in her Coat

Niamh Kelleher, Sydney, NSW, Aust, The Clock Reads

Paul Weidknecht, New Jersey, US, Leviathan

 Stephanie Williams-Holmes, Christchurch, New Zealand                                                       Self-Portrait

 Sue Pincham, Corimma, NSW, Aust, Somebody

The Long List

Longlist Confidence 2

Short story

Genevieve Monks, Pennsylvania, US, How to Turn a Bad Day Good

 Alexandra Gough, London, GB, Studies in Translation

Rodney Williams, Melbourne, VIC, Aust, Firing the First Shot

Harvey Wiseman, Edithvale, VIC, Aust, Check

Morgan McIntyre, Cheshire, GB, The Acquisition

Daniela Meyer, Bologna, Italy, Beyond the Pale

Sunny Nagpaul, Mohegan Lake, NY, US, Here

Jason Spongberg, Seven Mile Beach, Tas, Aust, Pregnant Pause

Sarah Fairbanks, Massachusetts, US,  She reaches for her boots

Sandra Inskeep-Fox, Maryland, US, Cracks: The Projects, 1949

Alanna Lu, Lidcombe, NSW, untitled

Giuseppina Bruni, London, UK, Dogs and Shakespeare

Paul Harman, Katoomba, NSW, Aust, Jay Boy

Paulette Gittins, South Yarra, VIC, Aust, Parting the Wind in a Horse’s Mane

Carolyn Nordstrom, Los Angeles, CA, US, The Dismal Mistress

Alexandra Svoboda, St Kilda, VIC, Aust, We  Never Hug Hello

Paul Weidknecht 111, New Jersey, US, Resurrection Fern

Kimberley Horrigan, Mornington, VIC, Aust, Powerlines

Jo-Ann Stubbings, Malvern East, VIC, Aust, Rare Specimens

Will Noack, Ontario, Canada, Her Last Life

Pamela Baker, Queenscliff, VIC, Aust, Two Children Lost  (In Memoriam)

Poetry

Heidi Gailor, North Carolina, US, The Black Madonna

Valerie A. Smith, Georgia, US, I’m checking out my bruises

Roy Donovan, Oklahoma, US, After the Hurricane

Ato Dankwa, Ontario, Canada, Still; Hoping . . .(Long Days, Longer Nights)

Robin Dellabough, Irvington, New York, Prayer for the Living

Madeline McKenzie, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Peeling

 Karla K Morton, Raton, New Mexico, US, Easter Morning on the Way to Nevada Great Basin

Malika Bhandarkar, Mumbai, India,  Name Tags (Improve Confidence)

Josef Schuster, Stanmore, NSW, Sand Castles

Katrina Lemaire, Southern Ontario, Canada, The First Catch

Suzi  Mezei, Mt Eliza, VIC, Aust, Epiphany

Mia Day, Memphis, Tennessee, US, Child of the Pines

Michael Leach, Bendigo, VIC, Aust, Acoustics

Coral Reeve, Norlane, VIC, Aust, My Poise

Valentina Gnup, Oakland, CA, US, As If I Knew Everything

Amanda McKinnon, Lindisfarne, TAS, Aust, The Thylacine’s Lament

Vi Padamsee, Canterbury, Kent, UK, 17.11.2019

Flash Fiction

Gia Di Petro, Sydney, NSW, Aust,  Four Women

Morgan Smith, Sante Fe, New Mexico, US, A Blizzard in August

Chloe Cotter, Cork, Ireland, The Farmhouse

 Kathryn Crowley, Dublin, Ireland, Little Chicken

Ella Lynch, Winmalee, NSW, Aust, The Smudge of Graphite

Script

Alexandra Taylor, Birmingham, UK Super, Wonderful, Marvellous

Maha Sidaoui, Williamstown, VIC, Aust, House of Burlesque

In Memoriam

Since its start in late 2021 Minds Shine Bright has published over one hundred writers. Every anthology is a community and every piece written contributes to our shared understanding of the world we live in and our human state.

Today I’d like to give a special mention to two writers who both made tremendous contributions to Minds Shine Bright and have passed away.

Pamela Baker’s short story Two Lost Children forms part of the Longlist for this year’s competition. Pamela had a tremendous skill with words.

Peter Fitzgerald’s beautiful poem Mudgee Railway Station was published in Confidence Minds Shine Bright Anthology 2022. His reading at Mudgee Library at the Writing with Confidence Workshop was warmly received. Peter was an avid contributor to the Minds Shine Bright community.

Gifts and Certificates of Recognition

Gifts and Certificates of Recognition will be announced closer to the May Launch of Confidence 2 Minds Shine Bright Anthology