AFTER exhaustive deliberation, the preliminary judges have come up with the top 21 finalists for this year’s Port Stephens Literature Awards.

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Some nine judges read the entries and then have a round table discussion (sometimes rather heated) about the ones which impressed them.

A short list of 20 is then chosen.

This year they selected 21 as it was just too hard to reject one of them.

These short stories are now in the hands of the three finalists’ judges who independently rate them from one to 21.

The points are then added up to decide the winners which will be announced at our quilt show at Club Lemon Tree later in November.

All major prize winners will notified beforehand and invited along to personally receive their awards. The others will have them forwarded by mail.

The short listed stories (in random order) are:

‘Mabel;’ ‘A Colour of Loss;’ ‘Send Me Home My Friends;’ The Hospital Visitor’; ‘The Seat’; ‘Good Business’; ‘A Story to Tell’; ‘Friendship Roller Coaster’; ‘A Fathering Will Do’; ‘An Asterisk’; ‘Time’s Slipping Away’;

‘Night of the Big Fright’; ‘No Place for a Lady’; ‘The Bride Price’;

‘A Child Names Warrior;’ ‘The Meal Ticket’; ‘Nine Nines are Ninety Nine’;

‘Too Late to Leave’; ‘Pilgrimage’;’Chocolate Milk’ and ‘Rob’.

News Of The Area will cover the presentation night and give full details of the winners at a later stage.

Watch this space.

By Geoff WALKER