June 23
Ten years of brilliant stories of life
We're thrilled to announce that we will be soon be releasing Hello Gorgeous, ten years of brilliant stories of life. This is an anthology of the best stories from the first ten years of this competition, 2016 to 2025. It will be published as an ebook next week, Wednesday, 1 July, and you will be able to purchase here, at our online bookstore.
The title story 'Hello Gorgeous'
This special anthology, takes as its name, the title of a story that was published in our first anthology in 2016 . Marion Estelle Brown wrote 'Hello Gorgeous' about the time she and her daughter spent in a women's refuge. The story opens with these lines:
‘Have you nowhere to go?’
‘Nowhere.’
‘You can come.’ The strong voice on the other end of the phone was reassuring late that night.
Sister Magdalene was plump and warm and orderly. She kept vigil in the old stone one-time Presbytery on a steep inner-city street. Her office was a sunny front room opening from the main foyer. By the window was a cage with a parrot who at intervals would call out:
Hello Gorgeous!
Our 2016 anthology
What follows is the story of how Marion experienced the presence of Jesus in that inner city building where doors were locked in the evening and barbed wire topped the fence, a powerful story of God's love breaking through despair.
How do you select 'the best'?
The editorial team had a great time putting together this anthology. We can't wait to share with you. Our moods were no doubt improved by email upon email, with the subject line beginning 'Hello Gorgeous...'
We decided not to simply publish all the award winning stories, because judges are constrained by the rules of competition, such as three winners per category per year. In the introduction to this anthology, chief editor Claire Bell, explained our process:
As always, selecting ‘the best’ is difficult, and subjective. We each have favourite stories that speak to our own hearts. Working as a team of editors requires us to justify our choices so that we can ensure each story will speak to many readers. Some of your favourites may not be included in this volume. That doesn’t mean they are not good, worthwhile stories! We stand by every story ever published in Stories of Life as a valuable testimony told well.
‘Best’ includes stories that are both clear and creative. They tell a story that reveals something of the nature of God, and the (sometimes shaky) faith of the writer. They use language that is understandable to people familiar with the church and also to those who are not. And they have a spark of something intangible, something that sounds a ring of truth that echoes in our memories long after we have forgotten the written words.
How will the book be structured?
In the end, we selected 58 stories, and grouped them into four sections: sun, earth, air, and seed. (We took inspiration from the leaf logo of the competition, on top of the letter 'I', naming the sections after elements needed for plant growth.)
What next?
Over the next few days, we will be publishing the titles and writer names of the stories that we will be republishing in this very special anthology, ten years in the making.
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