Wow.  I did not see that coming…

A nomination for my writing work. What an amazing surprise. I don’t know who nominated me for this award, but if you are reading this … thank you.

To complete the survey, I’ve had to put forward one piece of writing to be judged.  That’s quite hard to do when I’ve been writing solidly for 10 years, but I chose an article I had published in Junkies Magazine Australia.

The article I’ve put forward is about Drop Earrings Not Bombs; a creative, community-led jewellery project which partners with Small Projects Istanbul’s Olive Tree Women’s Craft Collective.  This project provides a support network for displaced Syrians, and a way for this small group of people to earn an income.

You can read the full article here: Drop Earrings

This piece came together by the skin of my teeth. I attempted to contact the Drop Earrings Not Bombs team a number of times, but communication proved difficult. With a few days to go until the deadline I thought I might have to ditch the article, but I managed to make contact with Catie in Turkey via WhatsApp.

I am so proud of this article, which I hope gives a voice to a small community doing great things for displaced Syrians in Turkey.  By the way, if you want to buy a pair of these beautiful earrings head to dropearringsnotbombs.org.

It doesn’t matter if I don’t reach the finals of the National Brilliance Awards, to be nominated is an honour.

Thank you.