The Minds Shine Bright Confidence 2022 Short List includes winning and commended entries from the inaugural Minds Shine Bright writing competition Confidence 2022.
Overall Winner
The winning entry of the Minds Shine Bright writing competition Confidence 2022 was short story Red Bikini by Françoise Thornton-Smith. Red Bikini is an evocative story that explores confidence from multiple perspectives. On the days when so much of Australia was on fire, the diverse reactions of a group of holiday-makers, as they prepare to face the oncoming flames; and the inner struggle of the protagonist, Arlette, on her journey of healing and recovery will stay with you long after you finish reading.
The overall winner of the Minds Shine Bright writing competition Confidence 2022 is:
Françoise Thornton-Smith, Red Bikini, short story, (Wartook, Victoria, Australia)
Poetry winners
There were joint winners for the poetry category, as two very different poems resonated strongly. Kevin Dyer’s Dahlias captured the essence of the topsy turvy world that the COVID pandemic threw us all into. Michael Leach’s Emergence of Voice explored the development of confidence over the journey from boyhood to manhood.
The winners of the Minds Shine Bright Confidence 2022 poetry category are:
Kevin Dyer, Dahlias, (Denbighshire, Wales, United Kingdom)
Michael Leach, Emergence of Voice, (Strathdale, Dja Dja Wurrung Country, VIC, Aust)
Flash fiction winner
There were some remarkable flash fiction entries. Poppy Brazier’s Flying Free is an excellent example of visual story telling. Set on Stradbroke Island, it explores teenage over confidence and arrogance. Poppy is currently in her final year of high school
The winner of the Minds Shine Bright Confidence 2022 flash fiction category is:
Poppy Brazier, Flying Free, (Brisbane, Queensland, Aust)
Script winner
Jed Stanley’s action script, Beaucoup Bills, has strong visual elements, the backdrop of a hot Perth summer in the festive season and the misplaced confidence of young men and women who set out to rob a casino. Jed is fifteen.
The winner of the Minds Shine Bright Confidence 2022 script category is:
Jed Stanley, Beaucoup Bills, (Redcliffe, Western Australia, Aust)
Short story winner
Alexandra Svoboda’s All the Pain and all the Joy takes us on a journey of self discovery as Gabrielle takes up playing women’s football and tackles workplace bullying.
The winner of the Minds Shine Bright Confidence 2022 short story category is Alexandra Svoboda All the Pain and all the Joy.
Commended Poetry
The following commended poems were selected for the Short List of the Minds Shine Bright writing competition Confidence 2022 and published in Confidence, Minds Shine Bright Anthology 2022.
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)
Clare 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, (Melbourne, VIC, Aust)
Drew Grant Night Owl, (Brighton-Le-Sands, 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, (Jane Brook, 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, England, UK)
Karen Lethlean Catch and Release, (Heathcote, NSW, Aust)
Jaydan Salzke Rite of Passage, (Middle Ridge, QLD, Aust)
Aoife McFadden Distorted Lens, (Morphetville, SA, Aust)
Anna Rodway Mabel, (Wagga Wagga, NSW, Aust)
Regina de Búrca Sovereign (Dublin, Ireland)
Evelyn Menary Victory Memorial (Ottawa, Canada)
Steve Fendt Gone South (Clifton Springs, VIC, Aust)
Jennifer Hurley Tree of Knowledge (Portarlington, VIC, Aust)
Commended Flash Fiction
Kate Foulds Acorn, (Bendigo, VIC, Aust)
C Sullivan Morning Chorus (QLD, Aust)
Leni Maag Sarah, (Munich, Bavaria, Germany)
David Edwards Chilblains, (O’Connor, ACT, Aust)
Eve Nucifora Trumpet (Turner, ACT, Australia)
Lesley Day Poached, (Upper Sturt, SA, Aust)
Amelia Carter The Currawong, (Braddon, ACT, Aust)
Sue Hall Barred Rock, (Kerikeri, Northland, New Zealand)
Scott Hallarn Townscapes (Toronto, Canada)
Jessica Kilkenny Move, (Surrey Hills, VIC, Aust)
Hannah Small Confidence in Healing (Middle Park, VIC, Aust)