We’re delighted to announce that the title story for the 5th book in the Stories of Life series is ‘The Swimmer’ by Gaynor Faulkner. Congratulations, Gaynor! Thank you also to Ben from Immortalise who designed our book cover.
So we’re ready to announce that the book launch and announcement of category winners will be on Wednesday, 18 November, 2020 at Tabor Adelaide and it will be live streamed on Facebook as well. We hope that you will be able to join us!
Congratulations to all the following contributors whose stories have been selected for publication in the 2020 Stories of Life anthology. These stories are also in the running for prizes in their respective categories. Prize winners will be announced at the book launch, which will be held on the evening of Wednesday 18 November, at Tabor Adelaide and online.
Immortalise Stories of LifeSurviving the Lockdown by Amelia Shee
Selective Listening by Anan Mclean
The Fighter by Bastien Lee
Another Happy Memoir by Baxter Gierus-Heintze
My Piano Solo by Caleb Cheah
Suitcases by Elizabeth Turland
An Experience that Changed Me by Ellisa Thong
Lonely No More by Isaac Wong
Suicide is Not a Book in the Fiction Section by Isabel Barton
The Perfect Song by Kaitlin Turland
A Leap of Faith by Mikayla Saladine
My Asthma Story by Moses Yong
He Answered by Sheann Tung
Eternity Matters Short Stories of LifeThat Question by Anna Kosmanovski
A Letter to You by Beverly Sweeney
Saved by Subtitles by Boo Hooi Khoo
God’s Love in the Home by Colleen Russell
Andy by Craig Chapman
Our Story during the Pandemic by Cris Yu
The Anthill by Diana Davison
Jerusalem, in Egypt by Elizabeth Tobal
Promised Rescue by Emma Taylor
The Swimmer by Gaynor Faulkner
Pterodactyl by Grant Lock
In God’s Garden by Heather Gray
The Wonderful Peace by Jeanette Grant-Thomson
A Small Giveaway by Jenine Altmann
The Way to Remember by Jennie Del Mastro
Where is God in my Covid-19 world? by John Duthie
Peacock by June Desireé Hoel
An Imperfect Mum by Karen Curran
His Eye is on the Budgie by Lesley Beth Manuel
Twenty Square Centimetres of Power by Margot Ogilvie
Only a Male by R. J. Rodda
A Timeless Symphony by Stephanie Taylor
Tabor Open Stories of LifeSnakes, Ladders and Green Carpets by Anusha Atukorala
The Refugee by Charles Yuen
Palm Trees, Sand Dunes and Beach Umbrellas by Diana Davison
Always on Time by Donna Meehan
Slightly Awkward by Esther Cremona
An Angel in Heaven Now by Hazel Barker
An Unexpected Adventure by Heather Gray
The Ring by Jo-Anne Berthelsen
Sign Language by Julia Archer
Unexpected Grace by Kylie Gardiner
Sprinkled with Surprises by Liisa Grace-Baun
With You by Lisa Birch
In the Green by Liz Donald
Light Expels Darkness by Magda Alef
On the Way to Somewhere by Margot Ogilvie
Graves to Gardens by Martina Kontos
The Crucible by Judith Noyes
The Holiday by Nesta Hatendi
Invitation to Dance by Rhonda Pooley
The Kodak Moment by Stephanie Taylor
Misunderstood by Val Russell
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.
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:
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
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 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.
We’re delighted to announce that David Rawlings will judge the 2020 Eternity Matters Stories of Life category (500 words and under).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In 2020, we will continue to share stories of life, celebrate excellence in writing, and give glory to God. Will you join us?
