Two Moorabool writers were among 39 other Australians to have their work published in an anthology book.
On September 21, Bacchus Marsh resident Caitlin Mahony from Darley local Jaz Ward attended the launch of Confidence 2 at the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre.
The anthology is the second volume in a series which aims to study the idea of confidence through a collection of stories, poems, flash fiction and scripts over time.
It is part of the annual Mind Shine Bright writing competition, which is printed physically and also available digitally.
Mahony said she was ecstatic to finally share her story at the event in Geelong, which was a “long time in the works.”
“I’m feeling excited to be able to read my writing out to friends, family and strangers and for the book to be out there for everyone to read,” she said.
When asked about some of the details of her piece, Mahony kept her cards close to her chest.
“I don’t want to give too much away, I’d rather people read it!”
However, she did reveal what it was about and where she had drawn inspiration from.
“It’s about young people; feeling lost when you are young and being unsure of yourself in the world,” said Mahony.
“The story and characters are all fictional but I’ve definitely taken parts from my own life to inspire it.”
According to Minds Shine Bright, studying confidence ‘longitudinally in fiction’ is a way to learn about how writers and poets feel about the world and how this impacts people’s confidence.
This was Mahony’s first successful entry into the competition, with a previous attempt to submit a story to an edition called ‘Storm’.
