The winning stories in 2009 offered a broad geographical spread and an interesting range of subject matter which together add up to a stimulating collection of stories.
The 2009 overall winning story, Table Talk by Jennifer Moore is a compelling piece dealing with serious issues with a light touch, full of things left unsaid. With few words and written in everyday language, it captures a clear picture of life within the family and speaks of universal issues of life and death.
The regional winning story from Africa, The One-Armed Thief by Kachi Ozumba is a classic illustration of the African proverb that it takes a cunning man to catch a cunning man. A humorous story with movement and shape.
Shades, the regional winning story from the Caribbean by Alake Pilgrim, turns on the universal themes of family, sport, football, and the pressures of drugs. The Trinidadian dialect vividly brings the story to life.
Debbie's Call, the regional winning story from Asia by Manasi Subramaniam, gives us from the start a glimpse of the call centre worker on the night shift, already exhausted on her journey to work. A realistic contemporary piece, full of little details which paint a picture of Debbie's life.
The judge for the Pacific region, Jolisa Gracewood, writing about the regional winning story from the Pacifc, The Colour of Rain by Terri-Anne Green as well as all the prize-winning stories, speaks for all involved in the selection when she writes:
"Sometimes the humblest material makes for the strongest and most memorable stories. Among many submissions from Australia that took as their subject the devastating impact of drought and bushfires, The Colour of Rain stood out for its subtle, oblique, and yet utterly convincing storytelling. The last line arrives with quiet authority, and perfectly captures the knife-edge hopefulness of people who are dependent on the weather not just for their livelihoods, but their lives.
"Notably, this year many stories from this region (and beyond) pivoted on an innocent child or a senile older figure to comic or tragic effect. Homeless characters were also surprisingly popular. The stories that caught my eye either avoided these familiar tropes altogether, or took them somewhere unexpected. In fact, the element of surprise - achieved via humour, a narrative twist, a new perspective, or wordplay - was a signal feature of all the winning stories.
"As always, there were more marvellous stories than there were places on the final list, and the judges battled long and hard to include our own choices and recognise each other's favourites. It was a great joy to read so many varied and passionate depictions of life around the Commonwealth, and I think our final selection is a tasty sample of the very best of them."