The overall winner of the Minds Shine Bright Light and Shadow writing competition was poet Isi Unikowski from Canberra Australia for his poem Bright Square of Morning. The poem is about leaving Melbourne in the morning light. It takes the reader on a journey from the physical world to the universal and stays with you. It is the first time that a poem has been the overall winner of a Minds Shine Bright writing competition.
Second Prize was awarded to Helen Booth, from the Surf Coast in Victoria, Australia. for her short story The Brightest Star Once again Helen has delighted the judges with the power of her words. The Brightest Star is a gentle and heartwarming story about love, early mornings and photography. Helen was the overall winner of Confidence 2024 for her short story Drift published in Confidence 2 Anthology.
Third Prize was awarded to Edie Redwine a 24-year-old Ojibwe Two-Spirit person from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States of America. Edie’s short story Roots is a powerful and haunting story with a strong spiritual connection to the land.
Fourth Prize was awarded to Paul Drewitt from Karama, Northern Territory for his poem Slither of Light, which captures the terror of a young child at night in bed.
Forty three writers and poets were selected for the Minds Shine Bright Light and Shadow writing competition shortlist. There were four placed winners and thirty nine commended writers who togther will be published in the second anthology in the Minds Shine Bright Seasons series of anthologies Light and Shadow. (Storm anthology is the first book in the Seasons Series).
The Awards were announced at two online celebrations to cater for different time zones. Talented writers and poets from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and Australia came together for the Awards and to read and share their work.
Special thanks to Jennifer Harrison who joined Amanda Scotney on the Judging Panel for the Light and Shadow Writing Competition.
We are very excited to start bringing Light and Shadow anthology to life and we are working towards an April Launch.
The Light and Shadow Short List
The Light and Shadow shortlist is announced in curated sets of the winning and commended writers which reflects the structure of the Light and Shadow anthology.
The Top Eleven
The top ten or eleven is a feature of the Seasons anthology series. The top 11 writers and poets (4 placed, 7 commended) were:
Isi Unikowski, Canberra, ACT, Aust, poem, Bright Square of Morning
Helen Booth, Surf Coast, Victoria, Aust, short story, The Brightest Star
Edie Redwine, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, short story Roots
Paul Drewitt, Karama, Northern Territory, Aust poem, Slither of Light
Gayle Beveridge, Bass Coast, Victoria, Aust short story, Cash Only
Glyn Matthews, Cheshire, GB, short story Tidelines
Lans Felby, South Australia, Aust, flash fiction, untitled
Poppy White, Harcourt, Victoria, Aust, short story The Shallows
Keren Heenan, Greensborough, Vic, Aust, short story, The Colour of Air
Suzanna Fitzpatrick, Orpington, Kent, GB, poem The Shed
Gabi Cadenhead, Sydney, NSW, Aust poem, Sky
Images
Each commended piece in this set is highly visual and creates an image or a series of images in the mind’s eye.
Maya Le Her, Sydney, NSW, Aust, poem, Photograph
Roger Vickery, Sydney, NSW, Aust, short story, Dark Cousin
Suzi Mezei, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, poem, Fade Out: the Fort Nepean Tunnels
Suzanna Fitzpatrick, Orpington Kent GB, poem, Bushfires, poem
Liam Boyle, Ballybane, Gallway, Ireland poem, The Sunday After
Dawn to Dusk
These commended pieces explore the ways that light and shadow create a perspective in nature and capture the magic of the land and our connection to it.
Chelinay Gates,( Overall winner of Storm) Guildford, WA, Aust, flash fiction, Yanggarda Yanggarda – Long Long Time Ago
Leone Gabrielle, Seymour, Vic, Aust, poem, Clear Water
Brooks Carver, Illinois, US, flash fiction, Twilight of a Season
Jenifer Hetherington, Beaconsfield, WA, Aust, Mind Fish
Françoise Thornton-Smith,(Overall winner of Confidence 2022) Wartook, Vic, Aust, short story, The taste of land
Krista Jane May, Rockglen, Saskatchewan, Canada, short story, This way now
Smoke and Mirrors
These commended pieces predominantly play with light and shadow indoors, as they explore the urban and the suburban. Zoom in to inside four walls. Electric lights and shadows. Smoke! The glow of neon. At home. At the shops. There is light and shadow in all of us.
Scott Winkler, Glendale, Wisconsin, US, short story, In which a socked foot, a cat, two avocados and a goddess take flight, and Count Leo takes a bow
Jo Curtain, Torquay, Vic, Aust, story, Lessons from the kitchen
Oshada Perera, Southland, NZ, short story, Marshmallows
Jake Richards, West Launceston, Tas, Aust, short story, In the line of duty
Brendan Caldwell, Lurgan, Armagh, GB, short story Sun Cat With Smoke For A Body
Isabella Rona, Twickenham, GB, short story, Milk Teeth
Jean Roarty, Cabinteely, Dublin, Ireland, short story, The Dance between Darkness and Light
Jane Downing, Albury, NSW, Aust, short story, Second Time Round
Sean Crawley, Long Jetty, NSW, Aust, short story, No One Talks Anymore
Moonlight
These commended pieces explore the vast darkness of space, the magnificent moon, the glow of starlight.
Ez Knill, Adelaide, South Australia, Aust, poem, Moonlight/starlight
Adrian Downes, Footscray, Vic, Aust, short story, The Legacy of Shadows
Alice Gorman, Adelaide, South Australia, Aust, short story, Lavatime,
Pleasure and Pain
This set explores the best and the worst in us: good and evil; suffering, pain, fear and danger, pleasure, decadence, connection, values and choices. There is also a celebration of life, the light of the human spirit, survival, hope, joy and the power of words.
Angela Costi, Melbourne, Vic, Aust poem, Medicinal
Karen Lea Armstrong, Timmins, Ontario, Canada, poem, The guy with the wound
Tim Loveday, Fitzroy North, Vic, Aust, poem, In the bar my mum used to work
Owen Dwyer, Saggart, Dublin, Ireland, short story, Pleasure
Veronica Troup, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, poem, Outfoxing Merri Creek
Sophie O’ Hagan, Barton Bendish, GB, short story, Up on the Moors
Pat Abraham, Sydney, NSW, Aust, short story, Cut from the Same Cloth
Eilish Siobhan Brennan, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, short story, A Backyard Wedding
Alexandra O’Sullivan, Regional Victoria, Aust short story, All the pretty birds
G.M. Monks, Pennsylvania, US, poem, Genghis Khan
The Long List
The following pieces receive a special mention for being selected for the Minds Shine Bright Light and Shadow Writing Competition Long List:
Arindam Kalita, Assam, India, short story, The Hallway
Tanya Allen, South Australia, Aust, flash fiction, From the Ash
Emma Andrews, Apollo Bay, Vic, Aust, short story, The Display
Nelli R. Atica, Sydney, NSW, Aust, short story Journey’s End
Jemma Boylan- Turner, VIC, Aust, short story, untitled
Alex Blaelock, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, short story Doreen’s Dilemma
Margaret Brennan, Mudgee, NSW, Aust, short story A Tree for Morris
Joy Campbell, Brisbane, QLD, Aust, short story, Spotlight
Rosa Cass, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, poetry, Get Better Soon
Lyn Chatham, Geelong, Vic, Aust, poem, The Truck
Dave Clark, Alice Springs, NT, Aust, short story, Marketing Gold
Adrienne Farago, NSW, Aust, short story, An incident of Chronology
Alida Galati, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, short story, Mosaic
Laura Garden, Massachusetts, US, short story, A Symphony of Whipbirds
Laura Garden, Massachusetts, US, short story, Honeyeaters in the Grevillea
Liliane Grace, Queensland, Aust, short story, The Balance Sheet
Penni Giuliani, Vic, Aust, short story, By the Light of the Quarter Moon
Ilonka Guse, Northern Territory, Aust, short story The Marble Dance
Chiara Hochstadt, Sydney, NSW, Aust, poem, But A Measly Moth
Kirsten Johnston, Mount Gambier, SA, Aust, poem, Adelaide Oval
Penny Lane, New South Wales, Aust, poem, Forest Walking
Penny Lane, New South Wales, Aust, poem, Early Morning, Night
Maya Linden, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, short story, At the Tip of Touch
Lise Mayne, Alberta, Canada, poem, Shadow Play
Anne Meale, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK short story, Jammy Legs
Suzi Mezei, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, poem, Endurance
Eamonn A. Miller, Hobart, Tas, Aust, The Hotel Ever Rest
Amanda O’Callaghan, Brisbane, QLD, Aust, flash fiction, The Mouse
Laura Pettenuzzo, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, short story, The Cat That Saved My Life
Eugenie Pusenjak, Canberra, Aust, short story City of Light
Paddy Joseph Reid, Dublin, Ireland, flash fiction, From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same.
Anna Quercia-Thomas, Perth, WA, Aust, short story The Next Storm
Debbie Rudder, Sydney, NSW, Aust, poem, All that Matters Most
Conor Scanlan, Eltham, Vic, Aust, short story, Partitions
Sorrel Shamel-Wood, Oxford, GB, short story, Advent 2
Nimrada Silva, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, short story, There is a light That Never Goes Out (I’m sorry for the Smiths Reference)
Anita Tavendale, Adelaide, South Australia, Aust, short story Hiking with Glass Half Empty
Nicola Wiggins, Hertfordshire, GB, flash fiction, Crying
Alisdair Wilkins, Victoria, Aust, short story A High Enough Sky
Certificates of Recognition
The following writers were selected for Certificates of Recognition and small Gifts of Recognition for writing that really shines in some way.
Mikaela Chenlu, NSW, Aust, short story, The Wish
Eveline Chung, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, short story Lights in the Dark
Crystal Craggs, Queensland, Aust, Finding Light in the Shadows
Isaac Dugdale, Regional NSW, Aust flash fiction, Sea Star
Mary Hall, Regional Victoria, flash fiction, Night Sky Map
Claire McFadden, Colorado, US, short story, Shadows of Coffee Stains
Emily Mitchell, Newcastle, NSW, Aust, poetry, The Sea Wish
Oscar Morphew, Melbourne, Vic, Aust, short story Midnight Magic
Rebecca Obrien, NSW, Aust, short story, Feathergirl
Margaret Owen Ruckert, Sydney, NSW, Aust, flash fiction, Woman in the Shadows
Emma Tindal-Clarke, Sydney, NSW, Aust, short story, Stars Behind My Eyes
Chandra Trochesset, Mississippi, US, short story, The Light Between the Shadows
Chandra Trochesset, Mississippi, US, short story, Rendezvous
Gerard Uhrig, Lancaster, England, GB, short story Clarity
Mocco Wollert, Queensland, Aust, poem, Light and Shadow
Mocco Wollert, Queensland, Aust, poem, Little Feet
News and Competition Updates
For Readers
Remember to visit the Minds Shine Bright online bookshop and check out the Minds Shine Bright anthologies. If you are an avid reader and a collector you might like to collect the Seasons series (Storm and Light and Shadow) or the Confidence series (Confidence and Confidence 2) of Minds Shine Bright anthologies.
Minds Shine Bright is heading to Clunes Booktown Festival in regional Victoria, Australia in March this year to introduce the Minds Shine Bright anthologies to a new audience of book lovers. If you are heading to Clunes come and visit us at our bookshop stall to discover the Confidence and Seasons series of anthologies, and have a chat with us about reading, writing and books.
In April we will be launching the Light and Shadow anthology. If you would like to be an advance copy reader who will write a review of Light and Shadow please contact us.
For Writers
We are calling for writers from all over the world to enter our Places writing competition which is open until 31 May 2025. There are cash prizes for short stories, poems and flash fiction and a new caegory prize for English as a Second language writers and we have some great prizes for young writers too.
Occasionally we promote other writing competitions too. If you are a writer with a passion for martial arts you might like to enter the Albury Wodonga Martial Arts Writing Competition. It can be fiction or non fiction and you don’t have to be a martial arts expert to enter.
The best thing about the Minds Shine Bright Awards Celebration is the gathering of a community of writers across different countries, regions and timezones. Writing can often be a solitary occupation. If you’re looking to connect with writing communities and resource you can find some writing resources here.