IT'S COMPLICATED: 2017 Winners

by OutStanding Short Story Competition, Stacey Malacari, Diana King

"He. Alex repeats this over to himself, affirming his identity. Is it ok to be a 'he' and still fuck the gender boundary? Alex isn't sure. He knows he can define what it means to be male for himself. But can he navigate this without becoming part of the problem?" (from He/Him by Stacey Malacari) The OutStanding Short Story Competition is Australia's pre-eminent LGBTQIA+ literary event, and the 2017 Competition was the most successful yet. The Theme of "It's Complicated" had something to do with that, since it was a year of great challenges (although also, ultimately, great rewards) for the Australian queer community. This is an anthology of the amazing winning stories, from right across the ever-expanding acronym. If there is a commonality it is resilience against by bravely working through the many and various complications of our lives, by pushing the boundaries of conventional attitudes, and by lighting the darkness with friendship and humour, we will continue to claim our true and equal place in society.

35 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 3, 2018