This is a list of the winning and commended writers and poets from the Minds Shine Bright Writing Competitions. Each writer receives prize money and their shortlisted pieces can be found in the Confidence or Seasons series of anthologies by Minds Shine Bright.
Confidence 2023
The winners and commended entries for the Confidence 2023 writing competition to be published in Confidence 2 Minds Shine Bright Anthology 2024 are:
First Prize – Helen Booth, Anglesea, Victoria, Aust, short story Drift
Poetry Prize – Valerie Wallace, Michigan City in Indiana, US, Carnelvarium
Short Story Prize – Dan Micklethwaite, Yorkshire, Great Britain, Blackpool Solo.
Flash Fiction Prize – Kathryn Le Mon from Columbus, Ohio for When I am the Wolf
Script Writing Prize – Grace Keller from Dallas Texas for The Last Ten Seconds
Commended 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 19th 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
Commended Short Stories
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
Commended 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
Storm Winners
The Minds Shine Bright Prize winners and commended writers of Storm Writing Competition, published in Storm, Minds Shine Bright Seasons 1 2023 were:
| First Prize | Dr Chelinay Gates, flash fiction, Storm Clouds Approaching, Guildford, WA, Aust |
| Second Prize | Cassie Boulis, flash fiction, The Thaw, Atlanta, Georgia, US |
| Third Prize | Troy Walsh, short story, In the Embrace of Trees, Central West, NSW, Aust |
| Fourth Prize | Sarah Rasmussen, short story, House of Feathers, Korumburra,VIC, Aust |
| Top Ten | Steve Evans, poem, Storm, Adelaide, SA, Aust |
| Top Ten | Gayle Beveridge, short story, The Lightning Traveller, Bass Coast, VIC, Aust |
| Top Ten | Jennifer Harrison, poem, Shelter, Melbourne, VIC, Aust |
| Top Ten | Patricia Fitzgerald, flash fiction, Storm in a Teacup, Brisbane, QLD, Aust |
| Top Ten | Riya Patel, flash fiction, A Breeze that Brought in a Taxi Cab, New Jersey, US |
| Top Ten | Jacqueline Winn, short story, When God Goes Mad, Possum Brush, NSW, Aust |
Beverley Lello, Ketchum Bay, Yackandandah, VIC, Aust
Shale Preston, Storm Over Primrose Park, Sydney, NSW, Aust
Colleen Z. Burke, On Newtown Bridge, Sydney, NSW, Aust
Jude Aquilina, Storm Over Lake Alexandrina, Milang, SA, Aust
Steve Evans, Cockroach, Honey, Adelaide, SA, Aust
Suzy Mezei, In the Harsh of Winter, Mount Eliza, VIC, Aust
Nicholas Jeffers, A Dreaming Dog #11 Staring At An Animals Eyes, Baltimore, Maryland, US
Commended short stories
Perry Narborough, The Clouds Above Us, Hornsby Heights, NSW, Aust
Jim Kent, There’s A Storm Brewing, Port Fairy, VIC,Aust
Jade Dickinson, Gindle’s Spirit, Kingston, TAS, Aust
Mieke Heykoop, Storm Flight, New Brunswick, Canada
C.L. Glanzing, The Backwards God, Middlesex, GB, UK
Conor Scanlan, The Observation of Things Past, Melbourne, VIC, Aust
Peter Frankis, Westerlies, Port Kembla, NSW, Aust
Leone Gabrielle, The Visit, Seymour, VIC, Aust
Nandi-Li O’Sullivan, Stormy Strangers, Cork, Ireland
Brooks Carver, Under a Wild, Full Moon, Canton, Illinois, US
Meredith Downes, Battery Life, Brisbane, QLD, Aust
Confidence 2022 Winners
The prize winners and commended writers of Confidence 2022, published in Confidence Minds Shine Bright Anthology 2022 were:
| Françoise Thornton-Smith, short story, Red Bikini, Wartook, VIC, Aust | Overall Winner |
| Poppy Brazier, Flying Free, Brisbane, QLD, Aust | Flash Fiction Prize |
| Alexandra Svoboda, All the Pain and All the Joy, St Kilda, VIC, Aust | Short Story Prize |
| Jed Stanley, Beaucoup Bills, Perth, WA, Aust | Script Prize |
| Kevin Dyer, joint winner, Dahlias, Denbighshire, Wales, UK | Poetry Prize |
| Michael Leach, joint winner, Emergence of Voice, Strathdale, VIC, Aust | Poetry Prize |
Commended poetry
Charlotte Finn, Treading on Water, Bulla, VIC, Aust
Jennifer Harrison, Grandmother, Windsor, VIC, Aust
Mocco Wollert, Jessica at Fifteen, Keperra, QLD, Aust
Juliet Guthrie, The Last Heady Days, Box Hill Sth, VIC, Aust
Claire Le, Fossil, Thornleigh, NSW, Aust
Ella Mitchell, Beautiful Things, Welcome bay, Tauranga, New Zealand
Sadie Yetton, Party Song, Auckland, New Zealand
Rafael S.W. Stag Nation, VIC, Aust
Drew Grant, Night Owl, NSW, Aust
Diana Stoicescu, Debarked, Bucharest, Romania
Peter Fitzgerald, Mudgee Railway Station, Mudgee, NSW, Aust
Olga Pavlinova Olenich, The Line of Trees, Castlemaine, VIC, Aust
Heather Compton, Somewhere: 2021, Preston, VIC, Aust
Janeen Samuel, Parrot People, Morgiana, VIC, Aust
Morouje Sherif, When the Sea Takes You, I Won’t Come, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Shoshanna Rockman, Dragons Don’t Smoke, Elsternwick, VIC, Aust
Jericho Ellao, The Kingdom of the Over-world, Albury, NSW, Aust
Lee A. Baglin, Of Machine and Love, Perth, WA, Aust
Karen Lee Mills, A Northern Flicker, Echuca, VIC, Aust
Olivia Campbell, The People of the Art, Melbourne, VIC, Aust
Commended short stories
Claire Dalkin, Microbial, Hove, East Sussex, UK
Karen Lethlean, Catch and Release, Heathcote, NSW, Aust
Jaydan Salzke, Rite of Passage, QLD, Aust
Aoife McFadden, Distorted Lens, Morphetville, SA, Aust
Sue Hall, Barred Rock, Kerikeri, Northland, New Zealand
Anna Rodway, Mabel, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Aust
Regina de Búrca, Sovereign, Dublin, Ireland
Evelyn Menary, Victory Memorial, Ottawa, Canada
Jennifer Hurley, Tree of Knowledge, Portarlington, VIC, Aust
Commended flash fiction
Kate Foulds, Acorn, VIC, Aust
C Sullivan, Morning Chorus, QLD, Aust
Leni Maag, Sarah, Munich, Bavaria, Germany
David Edwards, Chillblains, O’Connor, ACT, Aust
Eve Nucifora, Trumpet, Turner, ACT, Aust
Lesley Day, Poached, Upper Sturt, SA, Aust
Amelia Carter, The Currawong, Braddon, ACT, Aust
Scott Hallarn, Townscapes, Toronto, Canada
Jessica Kilkenny, Move, Surrey Hills, VIC, Aust
Steve Fendt, Gone South, Clifton Springs, VIC, Aust
Hannah Small, Confidence in Healing, Middle Park, VIC, Aust
Confidence comes from within, seasons from without.
Amanda Scotney, on Minds Shine Bright themes