Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Stories of Life Award

The Swimmer and other stories of life

The book launch of The Swimmer and other stories of life had been set for Wednesday 18 November, 6:30pm. On Monday, 16 November, a few cases of community transmission were reported, the first in months. On Tuesday, Tabor, our event host, called off gatherings. In response, we reconfigured the event to live-stream only, but book sales could go ahead. At noon on Wednesday, the South Australian government announced a 6-day lockdown, to commence at midnight.

To support this effort to get on top of the outbreak, our team decided to postpone the launch.

Against this backdrop of unpredictability, we bring you The Swimmer and other stories of life, an anthology of true stories that points to a good God. This is not a book of pat answers to life’s dilemmas. Rather, it is a collection of nuanced, reflective, and well written stories, each no more than 1500 words. It urges the reader to lift their gaze heaven-ward and to hold on to God with even more confidence. The many voices in the book testify that even when – or especially when – life is unpredictable and confounding, God is present, and his character of justice, love, and mercy unchanging.

As usual, the submission period for the Stories of Life writing competition was from April to July, but for the first time we had Feedback Month in June. Our editors gave feedback on story drafts emailed to us, and this has worked well. We will continue this next year and urge all writers to take advantage of our editors’ extensive experience and their generosity, giving their time to help us tell our stories better. After submissions closed, our editors selected the best entries, all anonymous at that stage, for publication and judging.

When she had made her decision, Open category judge, Nola Passmore, wrote:

“I’d like to congratulate all twenty shortlisted entrants. The scenarios were wide-ranging, and I got something out of all of them. In selecting the three prize winners, I was especially looking for stories that packed a punch, clearly explored the relationship between faith and experience, and were well-written in terms of both technical and creative elements. The three prize-winners all achieved those aims, but there were also many commendable entries. Keep honing your writing skills and telling your stories. The world needs to hear what you have to say.”

The 2020 category winners are:

Tabor Open Stories of Life judged by Nola Passmore

First place – Graves to Gardens by Martina Kontos

Second place – Snakes, Ladders and Green Carpets by Anusha Atukorala

Third place – The Ring by Jo-Anne Berthelsen

Special Mention – On the Way to Somewhere by Margot Ogilvie

Eternity Matters Short Stories of Life judged by David Rawlings

First place – A Timeless Symphony by Stephanie Taylor

Second place – Andy by Craig Chapman

Third place – Twenty Square Centimetres of Power by Margot Ogilvie

Immortalise Young Stories of Life judged by Corrin Townsend

First place – Suicide is not a book in the Fiction Section by Isabel Barton

Second place – Selective Listening by Anan Mclean

Third place – Suitcases by Elizabeth Turland

As a collection, the short story anthology serves well to deal with complexities of life.

God is almighty, but he also prompts people into act on his behalf – Andy and Twenty Square Centimetres of Power. God is almighty, but he also cares about Elizabeth’s Suitcases and Anusha’s green carpets. And in a year when it seems that we are all reckoning with mortality, many stories dealt with life and death, including several of our winning stories: A Timeless Symphony, Suicide is not a book in the Fiction Section, and Graves to Gardens,

Nola wrote this about Graves to Gardens:

This was a powerful story of the author’s mental health journey and how God intervened in a seemingly hopeless situation. The story was compelling from the opening line. Dialogue between the author and the destructive internal voices was used to great effect, drawing the reader into the story. The author’s willingness to be open and vulnerable also added to the impact. It definitely left a lasting impression and will hopefully shine a light for others who are going through dark times.

Stories of Life started as an idea to get stories of faith out into the public.

Since 2016, we have been doing this by publishing an annual anthology, recording some stories for broadcast on 1079 Life and uploading them to our website storiesoflife.net. But we’re more than that. We’re a community of people who walk humbly with God in this world, paying attention both to him and to what is happening in the world. We constantly try to improve our craft of writing, and we take the time to write about God journeying with us in this unpredictable world. It is a truth worth writing about – an unseen reality, an eternal city, an everlasting hope.

A few hours before the lockdown, I dropped off a copy of the book in my neighbour’s letterbox. (She was not in, and it would have been illegal to walk across the street after midnight.) The next day I received this text:

What a wonderful gift! The stories are uplifting and inspiring – I read and reflected until very late. ‘The Ring’ brought back lots of memories. My parents knew the power of prayer. Thank you for this lovely gift – especially nice at the start of the lockdown.

The Swimmer and other stories of life is, I think, a book for our times.

I invite you, too, to read it and give copies away (order online and have it delivered as a Christmas present). And then, next year, perhaps you might write a story or two and send it to us, or encouraging someone else to do so. Books can be purchased from Tabor Adelaide’s reception at AUD20 per copy, during office hours when the lockdown is lifted, but best to call ahead to check, or put in your online orders now from our publisher Immortalise, or from Book Depository.