Announcing the winners of our Wherefore Art Thou competition

I might have known you creative bunch would get inventive in all the best ways. There was such inventiveness and delightful storytelling going on in this comp. I really enjoyed seeing all the different tales that were spun.

A huge thanks to the person who shortlisted this one and still managed to turn it around in time, despite having a fairly full calendar. It's much appreciated, as are the input and efforts of all the other judges. Special shout out to those judging for the first time - thank you for your insights.

This was one of the closest comps we've had in terms of the top 3. Only 3 points separated them, and two of them were tied on points and so we had to go to rankings to determine the order.

But without further ado, first place goes to WannabeWordsmith with his delightfully naughty tale of a music lesson with added benefits. A solid favourite with readers here, it's not uncommon to see him shortlisted, so kudos to him for top-notch consistent quality. Not a Bum Note in sight.

A very, very close runner up is Toreador, with his magical tale, Alchemy of Art. He should feel free to PM me the address of these gardens. I feel a trip coming on.

And rounding out the top 3 is Amuse Bouche, with her truly poetic entry, O is not for Oils. Just simply beautiful writing, as always.

The full top ten is listed below. Thank you to everyone who penned a story, read, voted, commented and encouraged the authors to share their works with us.

I will be in touch with the winners over the next day or two, regarding prize monies.

A new competition will be up and running shortly, and I look forward to seeing where people's imagination takes them.

Top ten

1. Bum Notes https://www.lushstories.com/stories/seduction/bum-notes - WannabeWordsmith $150

2. Alchemy of Art ​​https://www.lushstories.com/stories/fetish/alchemy-of-art - Toreador $100

3. O is not for Oils https://www.lushstories.com/stories/group-sex/o-is-not-for-oils - AmuseBouche$50

4. The Painter https://www.lushstories.com/stories/straight-sex/the-painter-3 - LuluWhimsy

5. The Score https://www.lushstories.com/stories/occupations/the-score-2 - GreyMatter

6. Still Life https://www.lushstories.com/stories/straight-sex/still-life-2 - browncoffee

7. Not So Still Life… https://www.lushstories.com/stories/bisexual/not-so-still-life-3 - lordscalpel

8. A muse by any other name https://www.lushstories.com/stories/oral-sex/a-muse-by-any-other-name-2 - Belthazor

9. Rendered https://www.lushstories.com/stories/supernatural/rendered - Obsolete_Fox

10. They call this art https://www.lushstories.com/stories/bdsm/they-call-this-art-2 - Flowercreek

Congratulations to all of the winners! Well done.

So many great stories, I think I read almost all the entries! Congratulations to Wannabe Wordsmith... I think you should have changed your username to Certified Wordsmith a long time ago!

Congratulations to the winners! It's an honor to be in the top 10 when there were so many wonderful entries in this competition.

Congratulations to WW, others placed at the top table and to everyone who entered. It was a wonderful ( and luddite-challenging ) brief, and I hope everyone had as much fun with it as I did. Thank you to everyone who made the competition possible. ❤️

No surprises here, these were three of my favourite stories. A huge well done to Amuse Bouche and Toreador. WW, you're going to need a bigger trophy cabinet my friend - very well done. Well done to all who took part, I feel these competitions are the heart and soul of Lush.

What a great theme for a comp and I am glad to see we rose to the occasion.

Congratulations to the top three, hooray to the top ten, and woo hoo to the rest of us. We done good.

Congratulations to the winners and the runners up. Great stories! 🥰😎👍🏼

Holy clarinets. To have the podium pieces separated by just 3 points and two ties, exemplifies the fierceness of this competition. I'm honoured to be sharing the champagne with two fantastic writers, and the canapés with seven more.

The theme and healthy word limit really allowed this site's talented bunch of authors to show off. So whether this is your first time taking part or you're a seasoned comper, hats off for writing and having the courage to enter. I'm still plagued with nerves and self-doubt every time my cursor nears the Publish button.

As always, thank you so much to the site folk who keep the gears turning, the incredible moderation team, shortlisters, judging panel, fellow authors and every single reader who offers support, encouragement, comments and camaraderie to make conjuring stories such a rewarding experience. This place rocks.

Congratulations to WannabeWordsmith on the winning entry, to Toreadror for his first runnerup story, to Amuseboche for his second runner-up entry, and to the. authors of the rest of the top ten stories. More importantly, thank you to all of the talented authors who took the time and made the effort to write an entry and make this competition the success it was, to Jen and staff for hosting the competition, to her overworked and underappreciated Moderators who reviewed and approved the stories, and likewise to her panel of judges, who by Jen's own words, struggled to pick the winners and runners up from this deep field of talented authors. You all make Lush the wonderful, successful site it is.

My... and I only entered this because, ironically, I could not paint. My sincere congratulations to Mr. Wordsmith and Toreador, and I am always humbled to receive such recognition. Also, thank you to all of you - the wonderful readers and exceptional moderators. You make this a fantastic place to exhibit my passe-temps insolite. 😳

Ooof, quite the start to a Tuesday. Now, if you excuse me, I have my palette to retrieve from the freezer. O really Is For Oils today. Merci encore. 😘

Quote by Meagananne1986

Congratulations to WannabeWordsmith on the winning entry, to Toreadror for his first runnerup story, to Amuseboche for his second runner-up entry.

Her/She. 🤣 Ce n'est pas mon premier rodeo - an old French proverb. 😜

I thought it was an excellent theme for a competition. Having read, liked and commented on every story, I can also say the standard of entry was exceptionally high. So congratulations to the winners, runners-up, and to all who took part. 😊

Also, thank you to the judges and Jen for running the competition. 😎

Quote by wxt55uk

I thought it was an excellent theme for a competition. Having read, liked and commented on every story, I can also say the standard of entry was exceptionally high. So congratulations to the winners, runners-up, and to all who took part. 😊

Also, thank you to the judges and Jen for running the competition. 😎

And a mega well done to you too, Dave. The time and effort you put in, not only in writing your own story but also in reading and commenting on ALL the entries, deserves our gratitude and admiration.

Congratulations! Question: are the remaining entries listed below runers up in the announcement in any particular order?

Quote by clarksex71

Congratulations! Question: are the remaining entries listed below runers up in the announcement in any particular order?

If you mean the forum post, yes, that's the order they placed.

Bravo to everyone who participated, and especially the judges and winners. This was a wonderful idea for a comp, and I loved how even when multiple authors approached a similar art+sex concept (music teacher and protege, body art, nude portrait model, porn as art, etc.), they each approached it in a unique way that surprised and delighted.

Quote by clarksex71
are the remaining entries listed below runers up in the announcement in any particular order?

If you mean the list under Competition Entries, they're in reverse order of when they were published.

Congratulations, MasterWordsmith, Toreador, AmuseBouche, rest of Top Ten, and everyone who entered. Fab, creative entries all around. :worship:

Everyone, be proud of your entries, smile at the comments left by those who chose to make time to read your stories.

Enjoy this wonderful thing called writing! ❤️

Quote by Piquet

And a mega well done to you too, Dave. The time and effort you put in, not only in writing your own story but also in reading and commenting on ALL the entries, deserves our gratitude and admiration.

Bravo, Piquet. And to Dave, also. 😘