From ageing to erotica – LGBTI story competition sees record number of entries

From ageing to erotica – LGBTI story competition sees record number of entries

ORGANISERS of an LGBTI writing contest say it is now the largest of its kind in Australia with an unprecedented number of established and amateur authors submitting entries this year.

The finalists of the 2014 OutStanding LGBTI short story competition were announced on Sunday at Sydney’s Stonewall hotel, with writer and therapist Ash Rehn taking out the first prize.

A tale of family and intimate relationships embracing both gender and sexuality, Rehn’s submission, Mothers, will be published in the November edition of the Star Observer magazine.

Writers were given a 750-word limit and the theme, “On the Edge”, leading to submissions tackling subjects including coming out, ageing and furtive sexual encounters.

“There was an intensity this year that we haven’t had for a few years with lots of cries of anguish,” said competition judge Robert Tait, author of novels including Perfect Gay Marriage and Trashtown.

“But we also had people who just had a fun approach and some of the best stories included that duality of laughing in the face of catastrophe and that’s traditional of the gay subculture to laugh at our distress.”

Stories looking at the lives of trans* people rated strongly, which Tait put down to the theme “because if you are transitioning, or if you are not a traditional binary type, then you live your life on the edge”.

However, despite the ongoing political debate, there was a notable drop this year in stories dealing with same-sex marriage.

Submissions passed the 100 mark for the first time with entries coming from as far as New Zealand.

“I’d see it now as Australia’s biggest minority writing competition,” Tait said.

“But that doesn’t mean we’ve strayed from our essential aim which is that writers should be able to participate in a non-judgemental atmosphere.”

Sydney state independent MP and patron of the OutStanding competition, Alex Greenwich, said the contest highlighted the creativity of LGBTI people.

“Our community has always been prominent in a lot of creative fields, whether it’s in writing, painting, theatre or film so it’s wonderful to see the written art being celebrated in such a way,” he said.

“We heard some really beautiful work, ranging from very sad to erotic, it’s such an important way for our community to be able to express themselves.”

The organisers said an eventual aim was to create an anthology of short stories from the competition.

The shortlisted stories can be found at the OutStanding website.

(Main image from L-R: OutStanding patron Alex Greenwich, finalist Christian Baines, organiser Teresa Savage, judge Rowan Savage, second placed finalist Diana King, judge Robert Tait, third place finalist Madeleine Shaw and judge Gail Hewison. Winner Ash Rehn was unable to attend. Photo credit: Viv McGregor)

OutStanding short story competition finalists

  • 1st Prize: Ash Rehn — Mothers
  • 2nd prize: Diana King — Hilary and Jennifer
  • 3rd prize: Madeleine Shaw — Rosie

Highly commended

  • Christian Baines — Silence
  • Emma Ashmere — Satellite(of Love)
  • Andy Boreham — Concealer

Last year’s winning story, Make it Work, was also published in the Star Observer. Read it here.

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