Last year, Juni Desireé Hoel’s story ‘Monster’ won first prize in the Short category (max 500 words). In awarding the prize, judge Wendy Parker commented:
Written with an honesty and vulnerability that showed up in each sentence. This story brought with it a gift of a visceral reaction whilst reading it. And when you’re able to bring your reader to tears, that is the work of a true writer. Congratulations.
Juni’s story was published in our 8th anthology Terracotta Travellers and other stories of life. You can also read it in our archives. She shared her backstory with us:
When I sat down to write a story for this competition, I wondered what to write about. Then I remembered a Zoom meeting I had recently with a group of three ladies I’ve been journeying with throughout the year as we work on making memoirs.
This group of ladies has been such a gift in my life as we enjoy going deep and are able to share vulnerably in this safe space. I shared some pages from a previous book I’d written about my mental health journey. I showed them this picture from it and shared the story behind it.
At the end of the Zoom call, one of the ladies said she loved our group because, ‘We can hold up a picture and say, ‘Here is my monster.’
I’d never heard of my picture being referred to as ‘monster’ before but I loved it.That word came to my mind, and I knew I had the title for this story I wanted to write.
This story helped remind me that I’ve come such a long way: from being afraid to share my monster to wanting to share it so others know they don’t have to hide theirs. Knowing God sees and loves my monster means I’m not afraid to share it.

Juni has had several stories published in our Stories of Life anthologies over the years. She told us what it means to be part of this writing-and-publishing family:
I love being part of the Stories of Life competition because I agree with the vision behind it of sharing well told faith stories that show the reality of God in our lives. I hope to day-by-day in any way I can share how God shows up in my life in big and small ways. I love that God continually speaks to us and meets us where we’re at, speaking our language so we can know him more. Each day is filled with faith stories, and I love that this competition helps me to notice them and share them.

P.S. Feedback Month starts 1 June. An online form will become available for you to send us your story drafts. Our experienced editors will give you feedback at no cost to you. What you do with the feedback is entirely your decision. We just want to help people of faith tell their stories well. All the best!