The Manna Writing Competition, 2001

This announcement was made by Danuta Shaw, co-ordinator of the competition:

In the end the following stories were shortlisted as finalists:

* Finyala's Gift by Penny Reeve

* My Angel: The One Who I Adore by Andrew Henley

* The Incandescent by Mark Kop

* e-legitimate hunger by Andrew Hii

* The Way We Were by Michelle Larkin

* The Kranji Clique by Geoffrey Bingham

* Doris and the Dreamer by Geoffrey Bingham

* The Bird in the Mango Tree by Geoffrey Bingham

* The Chink by Elizabeth Dyson

* Grace is Coming by Elizabeth Dyson

* A Streetlight Named Hope by Sarah Knox

and

* The Heart of an Angel by Cathy Douglas

As to the winner, Geoffrey Bingham's stories "The Kranji Clique" and "The Bird in the Mango Tree" took first and second place. Both these stories are astounding. Bunty Collins wrote that "The Kranji Clique" is "a moving account written with depth of feeling and revealing an important truth for life. A piece of history which needs to be known." Jeff Crabtree called "The Bird in the Mango Tree" "outstanding".

It was interesting to see that a number of finalist entries were written by the same authors. Given that this is a completely anonymous competition, and that the entry forms have been locked away by the scrutineer until last Monday night when the judging was finalised, there was no way of knowing this would be so.

Again, I would like to thank you for entering, and hope you will enter again next year. Information about the competition will be available at the jiracom website early in 2002.

Currently we are beginning work on the anthology. Due to illness, both the editors have been delayed with this task, and so the initial publication date is running behind schedule. We expect the anthology to be released early in 2002, with an expected recommended retail price of $15.95.

Currently, we expect that Manna Praise Worship Adoration will be available through Open Book and Koorong, as well as direct sale via the jiracom website.

Thank you kindly for your participation and may God bless you on your way, in your house, in your work and in your world.

In His Name,

Danuta Shaw
Director
Jiracom Pty Limited

Further information on all of the above is available from New Creation.