10 poems. 11 bush poems. 26 short stories.
Sit back with a cuppa and enjoy these short stories, poems and bush poems inspired by the theme of SCRUB in the inaugural High Country Words writing competition, the third writing competition run by the Mansfield Readers & Writers Festival.
With characters tearing through the Australian bush, scrubbing boats, or hiding scrubby souls, these pieces alternately deliver laughter, tears, or the desire to sit back and reflect on a special moment. Whether you meander through the scrub or race to the end, the journey will be its own reward.
How to purchase:
Email inkbookshopmansfield@gmail.com and we will send you an invoice. Anthology $25 and postage approximately $10 for up to 4 copies or $20 for up to 10 copies. Alternatively, you can pick one up in person at Ink Bookshop or at the Mansfield Readers & Writers Festival Oct 11-12.
Special thanks to our judges:
- Short Story: Margaret Hickey – award-winning author and playwright from North East Victoria with a PhD in Creative Writing. Author of Cutters End, Stone Town, Broken Bay, The Creeper, and short story collection Rural Dreams.
- Poetry: Maria Takolander – fiction writer, poet, essayist, independent scholar, public artist, reviewer, and interviewer, author of the short story collection The Double (Text Publishing 2013), and a poetry collection Trigger Warning (UQP 2021).
- Bush Poetry: Andrew and Frederica Furphy – these Shepparton raconteurs aim to keep bush themed story-telling alive with the benefit of age, a love of the well chosen word, and interest in regional Australia.
The fabulous cover photo is by Nicola Beautyman, and the cover design and interior layout is by the industrious Belinda Crawford, who is also Secretary of Mansfield Readers & Writers.
Thank you also to our sponsors: The Little Shop of Good Reads; Friends of the Library; William, Hunts and Bett Lawyers and Conveyancers; RB Sellars; and Ink Bookshop.
WINNERS
Thank you to all our entrants. We have been blown away by your creativity. Longlisted authors are featured in the anthology, see list below. Congratulations to the winners!
Poetry: Tim Loveday, How to Skin a Rabbit
Bush poetry: David Judge, Soul Search
Short Story Open: Cassy Nunan, The Carnivorous River
Short Story Mansfield: Shaun McMahon, Leave
SHORT and LONGLIST
Poetry
Asterisked entries shortlisted.
* Hannah Borrell, Box on the Dash
* Tim Loveday, How to Skin a Rabbit
* Allan Mackay, The Fallen Bull
* Scott-Patrick Mitchell, Adopt a Coastline
* Bob Topping, The Roo Shooter, Photographed
Emma Gourlay, The Most Deserving
Frances Lovell, A Suburban Surprise
Emily Padbury, It’s Too Late To Leave
Mike Pedrana, Town Pool
Sara Pronger, Scrub Side
Bush Poetry
Asterisked entries shortlisted.
* Kayleen Hazlehurst, Old Cobbers
* David Judge, A Returned Man
* David Judge, Soul Search
* James (Jim) Kent, The Scrub by Shelly Beach
* Allan Mackay, The Sad Song of Isaac Flynn
* Maree Mielnik, Young Guns
David Judge, A Swaggie’s Christmas
David Judge, Bailed Up
David Judge, Jumping to Conclusions
Chris Rutter, Sobriety at the Ranga Kanga (Red Kangaroo) Hotel
Calliope Vale, Where the Scrub Runs Deep
Short Story
Asterisked entries shortlisted.
Lachlan Alexander, Untranslatable
* Catherine Bell, The Kessala
* Taryn Donohue, Scrubbed
* Sarah Harris, Muddy Mirrors
* Christine Johnson, Tying the Knot
* Shaun McMahon, Leave
* Carolyn Nicholson, A Mother’s Embrace
* Cassy Nunan, The Carnivorous River
James Christie Murray, Drill Day
Paul Clarke, The Gift
Simone Curtis, Judith Scrubbing Brush
Danae Napier & Chris Dainton, Seeds of Hope
Taneesha Davis, The Boy Who Stayed
Molly Dunn, Struck
Mary-Jane Gibson, Whispers and Secrets
Christine Johnson, A Physical Thing
Julie Kloppenborg, Alone
Denise Kramarczuk, Blood on My Hands
Marjorie Lewis-Jones, Little Ev – Wildlife Vigilante, Pillar of Strength
Angharad Lodwick, Stockyard Spur
Jessica McLaren, The River
Kristof Mikes-Liu, Scrub-Zone Rhapsody
Veronica Ridge Cooper, The Last Resort
Louise Roberts, First Impressions
Emily Tosh, Underneath
Phillipa Yelland, Cappuchinos and Cockatoos