Launching the 2022 Stories of Life

We’re delighted to launch the 7th Stories of Life competition! In doing so, we are already looking forward to a great collection of stories before Christmas. Will your story be in it? Or the story of someone you know?

Writing has been called a craft, a calling, a gift. If it is your gift, and if you know someone with a great story, but not the language or inclination to write it down, why not use your gift and partner with them to tell their story? To facilitate this, Pete Court has spoken to renowned journalist and broadcaster Leigh Hatcher. Together, they have produced a series of three videos on how to write biographical stories well. Today we share the first of those videos.

Tabor lecturer Pete Court with renowned journalists Leigh Hatcher

Last year, Emily and Lorie worked together on Lorie’s story “Saved by a Rat”, published in our 2021 anthology The Labyrinth. Emily told us  how that partnership came about:

I was sitting cross-legged on the grass under a tree, eating my lunch when Lorie first came up to me. He sat down, and as we ate together, he told me he’d heard I was a writer, and that he had a story. It was a big story, one of those stories which normally happen only once or twice in someone’s life, and, as those sorts of stories often do, it changed everything.

‘Will you write it down for me?’ he asked.

To listen and shape someone else’s experience into written words is a weighty responsibility. As he spoke to me, I felt that. Yet how could I refuse? After all, those moments when God intervenes visibly and unexpectedly in our lives are precious and beautiful. They deserve to be recorded, to be set up as a sort of monument to the coming generations: God has been here.

‘I would be honoured,’ I said. ‘But we should both pray that God would use it in some way – it should stand as a testimony to God’s faithfulness, not sit as a file on my computer.’

And so, as we met up and recorded Lorie’s story, we also prayed – and before too long God sent an email reminder of the Stories of Life competition my way.

‘Lorie,’ I asked, ‘what do you think about entering your story in a competition?’

‘Go for it!’ he said.

The rest is (as they say) history.

Biographical writing will not be a separate category. You may chose to submit it in the Open category (1500 words or less) or in the Short category (500 words or less). This year, young writers aged below 18 will have the option of submitting in either the Open or Short category. As usual, the AUD10 entry fee is waived for writers aged under 18.

Our 2022 calendar

April to July Accepting submissions … but encourage you to wait for Feedback Month in June.

June Feedback Month whereby you will be able to submit your story drafts online and our editors will give you personalised feedback. What you do with that feedback is entirely your decision though we hope that you will find it useful. After tweaking your story, you then submit it before the submissions close on 31 July.

October Stories accepted for publication announced on this website.

November Book launch and announcement of prize winners.