By Jena Carr
Barwon Heads’ Lindsay Smelt has won the 2023 Geelong Writers Prize for his short story The Grace of Father Brown.
Mr Smelt received $2000 for his story about a young boy sent to live with the city priest while his mother gets cancer treatment.
“I’m thrilled and honoured to have won the Geelong Writer’s Prize,” he said.
“It was a bit of a surprise, but it’s great to be a part of Geelong writing competitions and to see the work of other writers.”
Mr Smelt said he enjoyed writing some of the dialogue for his winning short story and would continue writing stories in the future.
“The main driver of the story was my interest in moral questions and having unexpected consequences from our actions,” he said.
“My favourite part of writing the story was the boy’s relationship with a girl who’s his friend, and the potential romance between those two was fun to write.
“It was a great opportunity to have an actual project to finish and a chance to share some of the stories and work you’re doing with a much wider audience.”
The Geelong Writers Prize was held for the first time this year and was open to people from the Geelong, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast, Colac-Otway or Golden Plains shires.
“We wanted to recognise and reward local writing,” said Geelong Writers president Guenter Sahr.
“We received 96 entries, the high standard of which demonstrates the strength of the literary arts in our region.”
Winners were announced by author and writing coach Doctor Liz Monument on Wednesday, May 31, at Geelong West’s Boc Office, and the 10 shortlisted entries will be compiled into a book.
