First Place
The Return of Mouse Braveheart by Francoise Thornton-Smith
Second Place
Affinity by Suzi Mezei
Third Place
365 by Danica Stevens
Runners Up
That Sea of Stars by Kate Pozzobon
Weather Management by Georgie Waters
Judges Report
Return of Mouse Braveheart by Francoise Thornton-Smith
This piece is our winner because it is a wonderful piece that deals with complex themes compassionately and uniquely. We noticed it had nice descriptive language and a beautiful braiding of the story of Mouse Braveheart. We thought it was a unique take on the prompt and had a great narrative structure that kept us compelled throughout the story.
Affinity by Suzi Mezei
This piece came in close second and was very touching and beautifully written. We thought there was excellent character development, use of conflict and overall narrative structure. We found the ending to be incredibly beautiful and a nice addition to a compelling plot.
365 by Danica Stevens
This piece came in third because we found it original and shocking to be told this story through the eyes of the murderer. We felt it had a good pace and clever development of the plot. We enjoyed the inclusions of flashbacks and memories to keep us engaged in the story.
That Sea of Stars by Kate Pozzobon
This piece was beautifully written and captured a youthful tone well. We loved the development of the relationship between mother and child and the descriptions of the house. We felt the ending was really sweet and memorable.
Weather Management by Georgie Waters
This was a highly original and inventive piece. We enjoyed the metaphor of mental illness though weather and jackets. We felt the meditation on clothing and rain was very clever and that the piece employed great use of descriptions of setting.
General Remarks
This year we saw many original, beautifully written pieces. With so many different takes on each image prompt, we very much enjoyed seeing the diverse plots. We were looking for works that showcased original plots, character development and a clear narrative structure. We had many works score closely, but our winner was a stand-out piece celebrating a triumph over fear and had us enthralled from the beginning. We would like to congratulate all entrants, even those that did not place, as writing a story and submitting it to a competition is a wonderful achievement.