Judging of the Roly Sussex Short Story Competition – affectionately now known as the Rolys – is coming to a close. The competition, one of the flagships of the English-Speaking Union (Queensland Branch), attracted a record number of entries – 73 in the Open Division and 70 in the Secondary School Division – and demonstrated an exceptionally high standard.
The competition awards $7,500 for First Prize and $1,500 for Second Prize in the Open Division; and $1,000 and $500 respectively for the Secondary School Division.
For the first time in the competition, this year the judges (three of whom are IPEd members) have decided to publish the shortlist of their top stories, selected from a very strong field. Congratulations to all the authors who have created work they are proud of and that we have enjoyed.
Rolys Open Division 2024 shortlist
The quality of this year’s entries testifies that short fiction is alive and thriving. We looked for creativity, effective and evocative use of language and, importantly for a short story, a powerful ending that brought it together. The judges – David Fagan, Kerry Davies AE and Belinda Pollard AE – all have editing and publishing backgrounds, so we also looked for publishable work that is engaging to a general audience.
These stories are shortlisted for the Open Division:
- Rachel Bowman (Qld), Help for Kitty Hopkins’ nerves
- Susan Neudegg (SA), The boy
- Paulette Gittins (Vic), Blue is the limit
- Lorna Treutlein (Qld), Mya and the wolf
- Roxeena Bidgood (Qld), Music played in a cafe
- Adrian Mythen (Tas), Latent memories
- Daniel Fallon (Qld), Howl
- Pat Sheil (NSW), The annotated journal of Trim
- Tess Anderson (NSW), Salt spray
Rolys Secondary School Division 2024 shortlist
Among the 70 entries this year was an extraordinary exploration of creativity, genre and insight into humanity from a young writing base. The judges – Talisa Pariss-Proby, Brian Clarke and Georgina Steele – particularly recognise the time, effort and command of language that went into each and every one. Ultimately, the stories that have been shortlisted were the pieces that stayed with us in new and sensitive ways long after reading them. They were the exploration of the extraordinary in the ordinary – heartbreaking moments you see in the airport departure lounge, the complexity of love through the ages, or even the slow and terrifying destruction of our own minds.
We were looking for standalone, publishable pieces, with excellent use of narrative structure or understanding of the short story format, and a thought-provoking or challenging concept to explore as readers. Our shortlisted stories include nuanced explorations of complex relationships, succinctness of prose and a purpose to the language that ensured it hit its mark, as well as sensitive and insightful approaches to character and concept.
We encourage every writer who submitted to continue honing their craft. Continue to work towards strong conclusions, delving deeper into the questions you are asking of the reader, and take note of the power of narrative structure. Be bold and don’t be afraid to “kill your darlings”. We look forward to reading your work again in the future.
These stories are shortlisted for the Secondary School Division:
- Isabella Van Heerden from Southport Secondary Independent School, A thousand yards
- Jackson Woodhead from Iona College, To see real stars
- Claudia Russell from Downlands College, The perfect sacrifice
- Ivy Peart from Downlands College, A song of home
- Lori Adam from Downlands College, Frontlines of war
- Gracie Ryland from Mackay Northern Beaches High School, Jiějiě
- Isaac Round from Groves Christian College, An angel
- Jiaying Luo from Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology, Ouroboros
- Dylan Burns from Indooroopilly State High School, Noah
- Oliver Lanzilli from St Joseph’s Nudgee College, Solis ad pervenire
The winners from these shortlists will be announced later this year. Details of the 2025 Roly Sussex Short Story Competition will be available early next year at www.esu.org.au.