Michael Pettit is an established South African artist – a painter – with works in the SA National Gallery and other major public collections. A Pushcart Prize nominee, his stories and poems have been published in The Barcelona Review, Meniscus and other online journals, and in print anthologies. They have been shortlisted, placed, or won competitions including those of Wells, Hastings, Parracombe, MTP, Bournemouth, and Hammond House (Editor’s International Choice award). He recently won 4th prize in the 2025 Plaza Short Story Prize which was judged by Booker Prize winner Damon Galgut.