Anne Johnson has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Brno Short Story Writing Contest with “What Amusement”, a story about complex relationships at a local wedding. Johnson wins the prize for the second time, having previously won the 5th edition of the contest in 2021.
The second prize went to “Where the Future Was Planted”, written by Mohd Isar, which explored the lasting legacy of local scientist Gregor Mendel.
The top prize in the contest was CZK 9,000, with CZK 4,000 for second place. The contest, which had a published prize pool of CZK 15,000, also honored seven other local writers.
There was a tie for third place. “Black as the Winter They Bring”, by Adéla Mišove, used the local ornithological community to tell the story of real-life avian issues in Brno, while “Thicker Than Blood”, written by Kein Johnson, used blood donation as a vehicle to explore complex relationships among generations and nationalities. Both stories will be awarded CZK 2,000, thanks to additional prize money provided via an anonymous donation.
Johnson, originally from the United States, moved to Brno in 1994. She is deeply involved with Brno’s theater and writing communities, and is the driving force behind Comedius. She won the 5th edition of the same writing contest in 2021 with “The Language of Clouds”, and her “Sibling Rivalry” was second in the 2020 contest.
“The story came to me half-formed when I attended a wedding in a village around the same time the contest was announced,” said Johnson. “The Brno characters and stories were part of the overall story and I felt like they made it fit the theme, and Brno itself felt present throughout, in the specific locations.”
Participants of the contest were asked to respond to the theme of “Characters and Stories of Brno” in a creative way, with a maximum word limit of 2,500 words. A total of 39 entries were submitted. The jury included a cross-section of local cultural icons and writing enthusiasts:
- Don Sparling, a co-founder of the Brno Expat Centre and a longtime leader in the local international and Masaryk University communities;
- Tomáš Kačer, the head of the Department of English and American Studies at MU and a translator;
- Anna Formánková, a translator and editor at Nakladatelství MOBA; and
- Joe Lennon, a writer for Brno Daily and the Brno Expat Centre, and coordinator of the Writing Lab at Masaryk University.
The jury was instructed that the contest was focused on creating a story that included the theme “Characters and Stories of Brno”. The story was the most important aspect, including the writing, originality, character development, and plot development. It was understood that most of the entrants would not be native English speakers and that, in fact, this may have been their first attempt to write creatively in English.
All of the stories showed the intricacies of life and community in Brno. The top stories are available to read here. Four other stories were honorably mentioned.
The Brno Expat Center and Brno Daily were media sponsors of the Brno Short Story Writing Contest.
