The 2026 OutStanding LGBTQIA+ Short Story Competition winners
First Prize
Nicola White: This Place
My name is Nicole. I’ve been travelling Australia with my wife and dog, Dingo. Both educators, we travel to remote communities to live and work. Currently, we’re enjoying life on the beautiful Tiwi Islands, where art, life, language, culture, and Country converge.
Second Prize
Kristof Mikes-Liu: A Ghost Walks into a Noodle Shop
Kristof lives and works as a public sector psychiatrist across Gadigal, Darug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri lands. He loves being with his partner, Brendan. In 2025, he won the Failing Writers Podcast flash fiction competition and the Regenesis short story competition and was shortlisted for the Pearl Prize.
Third Prize
Honni van Rijswijk: The Seal Show
Honni lives and works as an academic on Gadigal land. She lives with her partner Laura and their child Anika (and their dog, Dashi). Honni’s novel BREEDER (Blackstone 2022) was a finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards 2022.
Madeline Shaw Youth Prize
Hierophant: What We Didn’t Say
Hierophant is an aspiring writer based in Brisbane. She writes fiction exploring youth culture and diverse lived experiences within the LGBTIQA+ community. She is also deeply dedicated to honing her craft and telling stories that resonate with readers.
Admin Prize
Alan Hewett: Good Neighbours
I am retired and live in north-east Victoria. My time is mainly occupied with volunteer work for the environment and writing short stories. My daughter is a member of the LGBTIQA+ community.
Highly Commended:
Urvasi Devi Dasi: The Shape of What Broke
I’m a writer, photographer and Reiki practitioner, and much of my writing explores spirituality, humanity, nature and the curious, sometimes messy business of being human. I’m drawn to stories that make me pause, look again and perhaps see something I had previously overlooked.
I’m a lesbian and have been part of the LGBTIQA+ community for many years, with many dear friends within the community. Whenever I can, I enjoy attending LGBTIQA+ events and social gatherings. I value the sense of connection, openness and belonging that comes from being among people who understand something of the journey.
Kailum Graves: No Plus One Found
Kailum Graves is a writer and poet based in Meanjin/Brisbane whose work lives somewhere between the absurd and the deeply human. His fiction and poetry explore grief, longing, bureaucracy, survival and the strange comedy of being alive in a body that did not come with proper instructions. His writing has been recognised by Australian and international literary prizes, and he often uses speculative or surreal premises to illuminate ordinary human aches. Before focusing on writing, Kailum spent fifteen years working as a digital artist, an experience that continues to shape his attention to imagery, atmosphere and emotional texture. He has a lifelong personal connection to the LGBTIQA+ community. He is especially interested in the places where humour and heartbreak are not opposites, but evidence of the same fragile, ridiculous hope.
Rebecca Hodges: No Theme
Rebecca Hodges is an Australian lawyer, Certified Practising Accountant, and writer whose fiction and poetry are inspired by the people, cultures, and landscapes she encounters through her international work. Drawn to stories that uplift, unsettle, and expand perspectives, she writes about authenticity, identity, and belonging.
As an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, Rebecca works in countries where homosexuality remains criminalised or deeply stigmatised. These experiences reinforce her belief that visibility, acceptance, and the freedom to live authentically cannot be taken for granted. They also strengthen her commitment to creating safe spaces where people feel seen, respected, and free to be themselves. Through both her professional work and her writing, she champions the power of storytelling to challenge prejudice, celebrate diversity, and connect us through our shared humanity.
Rebecca is married to Andrew and has one tiny cat.
SV Wintersun: 2.14 Voicemail
SV Wintersun has never believed love cares much about gender, and her fiction follows suit. She lives and writes on Wadandi Boodja in Western Australia’s south-west, working in human rights policy by day and on her debut novel by night. When she isn’t writing, she is likely gardening (poorly), spotting birds, or reading widely across lit fic and queer romance.