'Highly Commended' in the Hadow Stuart short story competition 2015!

My short story, 'The skies will be clear' was highly commended in this Fellowship of Western Australian Writers short story competition. Here is judge Susan Midalia's report:

 ‘The Skies will be Clear’ centres on a chance encounter at the Perth Zoo between a young Chinese student and a man estranged from his wife and child. Interweaving the young woman’s past, with its poignant tale of unrequited love, and her present loneliness, the story uses fragments of conversation, as well as symbols and gestures, to suggest the possibility of new beginnings for both characters. A lesser writer would have taken a subject like this and slathered on the sentiment, but this story is beautifully understated, poignant and tender."

(It wasn't at all at the Perth zoo, but we must forgive the judge for transposing the story to her city!)

Here is the full report (scroll down to the link).

Here is the story.