Winners of the Roly Sussex Short Story Competition – affectionately now known as the Rolys – have been announced. The competition, one of the flagships of the English-Speaking Union (Queensland Branch), attracted a record number of entries – 73 in the Open Division, 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.
Read the winning stories and notes from the judges (three of whom are IPEd members) on the ESU website.
Rolys Open Division 2024 winners
“The quality of this year’s entries testifies that short fiction is alive and thriving and, in the name of Roly Sussex, well supported by the English-Speaking Union,” said David Fagan, chair of the judging panels.
“In the Open Division, 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 all have editing and publishing backgrounds, so we also looked for publishable work that is engaging to a general audience.”
For the first time in the competition, the judges have awarded an equal first to two stories in the Open Division, as “mature, poised examples of their craft, though very different”, to quote Roly Sussex. They will also share the combined prize money equally.
Equal First Prize
- Roxeena Bidgood, Music played in a café
- Paulette Gittins, Blue is the limit
Highly Commended
- Daniel Fallon, Howl
- Rachel Bowman, Help for Kitty Hopkins’ nerves
Judging panel
David Fagan, Kerry Davies AE, Belinda Pollard AE
Rolys Secondary School Division 2024 winners
“Among the 70 entries this year was an extraordinary exploration of creativity, genre and insight into humanity from a young writing base,” said the chief judge for the division, Talisa Pariss-Proby.
“We particularly recognise the time, effort and command of language that went into each and every one.
“We looked 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.”
Here are the winning stories in the Secondary School Division:
- First Prize: Isaac Round from Groves Christian College, An angel
- Second Prize: Lori Adam from Downlands College, Frontlines of war
- Highly Commended: Isabella Van Heerden from Southport Secondary Independent School, A thousand yards
- Highly Commended: Jiaying Luo from Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology, Ouroboros
Judging panel
Talisa Pariss-Proby, Brian Clarke AE, Georgina Steele
Details of the 2025 Roly Sussex Short Story Competition will be available soon at www.esu.org.au.