Category Archives: A 2020 Announcement

A 2020 Announcement

Together on Life – radio interview

Yesterday, radio host Kit Densley interviewed Dr Pete Court on 1079 Life FM in Adelaide. They spoke about how Stories of Life is not only a writing competition, it is also a partnership with the Tabor School of Creative Writing, making writing resources available for free to help people tell their stories of faith well.

Dr Pete Court and radio host Kit Densley at the 2019 book launch of Papa’s Shoes and other stories of life

So many gems in this interview, but to highlight my favourite:

‘Writing is where you actually lean into the flow of your day, take a bit of it out and taste it, and go, “This water tastes like …’

Dr Pete Court

If it doesn’t make sense to you, listen to the interview: Stories of Life on Together on Life. Thank you Kit for making this available online so that we can all hear the interview in its entirety:

Other useful links:

Feedback Month – receiving story drafts till 30 June 2020

How to enter – submission period open till 31 July 2020

A little scar by Dr Pete Court

Archives

2016 – 2019 Stories of Life anthologies

 

A 2020 Announcement

Immortalise Young Stories of Life Judge

We’re delighted to announce that Corrin Townsend will judge the 2020 Immortalise Young Stories of Life category (500 – 1000 words, for writers aged 17 years and under).

Corrin Townsend

Corrin Townsend has long held a passion for teaching English. For 35 years she has been sharing her love of reading and writing with the students of Concordia College, Cornerstone College and now Unity College in Murray Bridge. Some of her recent favourite reads include Jane Harper’s The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man, and Chris Hammer’s Scrublands and Silver. Corrin is married to Christopher. They live in Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, and have three adult children.

 

A 2020 Announcement

Eternity Matters Short Story of Life Judge

We’re delighted to announce that David Rawlings will judge the 2020 Eternity Matters Stories of Life category (500 words and under).

David Rawlings

David Rawlings is an award-winning South Australian author who asks deep questions in his novels. He writes modern-day parables – stories that lift the lid on life and allow God to whisper to us all. Stories about how we deal with this thing called life. Stories wrapped around values we can identify with and desperately need.

While David has been writing corporately for nearly 30 years, his debut novel – The Baggage Handler – won the 2019 Christy Award for Best First Novel. His second novel – The Camera Never Lies – focuses on honesty in relationships and is now available and Where the Road Bends – a novel based finding yourself while lost in outback Australia – is available for pre-order. Why not take an outback holiday during your time sheltering at home?

He is published through the Thomas Nelson imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing in the USA. You can read excerpts of David’s books at www.davidrawlings.com.au and also connect in the usual social places of Facebook and Instagram.

 

A 2020 Announcement

Introducing one of our 2020 judges

Stories of Life is  unique in that we have one judge per category, with different judges selected each year. Today, we’re delighted to announce that Nola Passmore will judge the 2020 Tabor Open Stories of Life category (1000 – 1500 words).

Thank you, Nola, for giving of your time so generously. We’re excited to have you on-board to help us celebrate excellence in writing and storytelling.

Nola Passmore

Nola Passmore and her husband Tim run a freelance writing and editing business called The Write Flourish . With a background as a university academic and qualifications in psychology, creative writing, and Christian ministry, she’s never short of ideas. She co-edited the Glimpses of Light charity anthology with Jeanette O’Hagan, and has had more than 150 short pieces published, including short fiction, true stories, poetry, devotions, inspirational pieces, magazine articles, and academic papers. Her debut novel Scattered is currently in production with Breath of Fresh Air Press, and will be published mid-2020 under the pen name of Nola Lorraine. You can find her author website at www.nolalorraine.com.au where her latest blog post, last we checked, is The Year that COVID-19 hijacked Easter.

A 2020 Announcement

What’s new in 2020?

Today, as we launch the 2020 Stories of Life writing competition, it seems as if we live in totally different times compared to 2016 when we first started. But God is unchanging, and the team at Stories of Life remains committed to celebrating, publishing and broadcasting stories of life.

As of today, our submission forms are ready to receive your stories. The submission period will remain open until 31 July. But before you upload your story, we wanted to tell you about some new resources we’re making available.

What’s new in 2020?

April and May

Tabor lecturers Pete Court and James Cooper are developing a series of short writing videos that we will upload through April and May. If you are a Facebook user, liking our Facebook page @storiesoflifewritingcompetition will make sure you don’t miss any new posts or videos.

June – Feedback Month

You will be able to send in one draft of each story you intend to submit. Note that a person can submit a maximum of one story per category.

Submission of story drafts will be via an online form. There will be no fee for this. One of our editors will then email feedback to you. We will do our best to respond in a timely manner, so that you have plenty of time to polish your story before submission closes.

What you chose to do with that feedback is entirely up to you. You are not bound to send us the same story for your final submission.

What remains the same?

  • Our submission guidelines and submission period: 1 April to 31 July.
  • Cash prizes for first, second and third place winners in all three categories.
  • Publication of a 2020 Stories of Life anthology, comprised of the best stories we receive this year
  • Our invitation to anyone who has ever had a story published with us to let us know when they have publishing news.

In 2020, we will continue to share stories of life, celebrate excellence in writing, and give glory to God. Will you join us?