New Year’s Resolution: More reading and writing in 2025

New Years Resolution: More reading and writing in 2025 and a focus on writing about place

Minds Shine Bright’s new year’s resolution is to support and encourage more reading and more creative writing in 2025. We are looking forward to announcing the winners of the Light and Shadow writing competition in February and to launching Light and Shadow anthology, the second book in our Seasons series in St Kilda in April.

The new theme of the Minds Shine Bright International Creative Writing Competition is Places, and our new competition The Places We Live, Love and Leave is open and calling for entries until 31 May 2025. You can enter here.

Think about the places that mean something to you. From your veggie garden to the desert, from climbing a mountain to the hustle and bustle of your favourite city. Whether you are dawn by history, the aromas of cooking,the flora and fauna or the people and culture that draws you to write. Your challenge is to bring your special places to life and to tell their stories. We are calling for entries to our Places competition from writers based nearby and far away.

The first prize of the Places Writing Competition is $1500 and publication in the very first Places Anthology, a new series by Minds Shine Bright. Writers of all ages and nationalities are encouraged to enter and there are category prizes and additional prizes for writers from a non-English speaking background and for younger writers.

You can read more about the Places Prizes and the terms and conditions here.

Looking back 2024 has been an amazing year for Minds Shine Bright. Some highlights are:

• Confidence 2  was launched in September in partnership with Geelong Regional Library Corporation at the beautiful Geelong Library and Heritage Centre.
• We had visits from two international writers both published in Confidence 2; Catalina Steriu from Bucharest, Romania and Rylan Rafferty from Las Vegas
• We partnered with Schizy Inc to create a community anthology Glimmer featuring writers and artists with lived experience of complex mental health.
• We ran Creative Writing Workshops in Inverloch, Watsonia and Bendigo working in partnership with Writer’s Groups and Libraries
• We Connected with readers at a grass roots level  by running market stalls and connecting with regional bookshops and book partners.

Looking forward:

In 2025 Minds Shine Bright plans to:

• launch Light and Shadow anthology in St Kilda in April 2025
• call for entries to our new Places Writing Competition until 31 May 2025
• Strengthen ties with our book partners and forming new partnerships to strengthen our reach and influence
• Develop new ways to promote  Minds Shine Bright published writers and books
• Build our readership and connect with more readers
• Make more international connections
• Continue our longitudinal study of confidence in contemporary fiction, poetry and creative writing. Our flagship Confidence writing  competition will open later in 2025 and running until May 2026.