Strong Words #2 showcases the long-listed entries for the 2019 and 2020 Landfall essay competitions. The contents, often poetic and psychologically insightful, gave editor Emma Neale a 'hell of an intriguingly hard time' deciding which sparkling explorations would knock off the others for the top three places in each year. This anthology gives readers a chance to sample the high-quality work entered, without the agony of having to choose the winners. Including well-known names and promising newcomers, the contents roam far and wide over a number of subjects, such as Sarah Harpur's irreverent, laugh-aloud essay about death; Siobhan Harvey's potent essay about the memories of an abusive childhood stirred up by current house renovations; and Tan Tuck Ming's essay about technology and how it mediates, enables, and impacts intimate relationships. Strong Words #2 also includes the joint winners of the 2019 essay prize: Tobias Buck's 'Exit. Stage Left, ' which explores issues of prejudice and bias through the experience of someone 'the colour of cotton candy or pink marshmallows, ' and Nina Mingya Powles' work 'Tender Gardens, ' exploring Chinese cultural and poetic heritage.