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02-28-2008

TORTURED MYSTERIOUS MAN WINS PRIZE

An account of a man who undergoes a mysterious transformation from a person pacing like a caged animal to as peaceful as snow falling without wind has won first prize in the Smink Works Books short story contest.

Sydney-based writer Guy Cranswick penned the unusual character study 'And Snow Falls without Wind' in response to the contest theme ‘Peace Inside, Peace Outside’.

The contest drew a wide variety of unique stories from new and burgeoning writers, from an account of nature not at peace to a man tormented simultaneously by visions of his ex-wife and the pests quickly taking over his home.

This year’s theme grew out of the concept that if you can change yourself you can change the world, and was inspired by a quote by founder of Iyengar Yoga and one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world, B.K.S Iyengar: “Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it.” The largely tortured subjects of the short stories entered obtained some sort of peace by the end of the stories, but the peace was not always what you would expect.

Competition judge, author Anthony Santoro, said Cranswick’s work was a “great glimpse into trying to understand something that is deep inside another’s head.” He said Cranswick, who donated his $100USD prize winnings to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, had written a story that “had a smooth, poetic dynamic to it.” Santoro gave Cranswick first place due to “the originality and the depth the author reached into his seemingly disturbed, yet finally peaceful character.”

This is Cranswick’s second accolade in the Smink Works Short Story Competition. Last year his story 'Talking' was highly commended.

This year’s youngest entrant, 15-year-old Hayden Wilkinson from Bentley in NSW, garnered a highly commended accolade for his story 'Ultimate Amity'.

The short-story anthology, entitled 'Peace Inside Peace Outside', containing all the winning and highly commended stories, is due out in April and can be pre-ordered on the Smink Works site.

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