Alan’s gripping tale a winner
TOOWOOMBA-BASED WRITER TAKES TOP PRIZE AS FURPHY LITERARY AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Toowoomba-based writer Thomas Alan was announced as the winner of this year’s $15,000 Furphy Literary Award in an online ceremony on Saturday night which also included youth and junior winners from around the Goulburn Valley.
Mr Alan’s short story about a young man from a small seaside town angry at the world around him was described by judge Anson Cameron as a ‘‘beautifully rendered small-town dystopia’’.
The winner also received a residency program at La Trobe University and publication in the forthcoming anthology of 2021 Furphy award winners.
The award’s open category received more than 500 entries from across Australia.
Furphy Literary Award director Sam Furphy said the quality of the shortlisted and finalist entries was once again outstanding.
“With such a large field of entries from all over the country, the winning and shortlisted works really are a joy to read,” Mr Furphy said.
Fellow award director Adam Furphy said work was now under way to publish the second anthology showcasing the best of the submitted 2021 open category short stories.
He said the anthology would be available in bookstores from December.
Winner of the youth short story category was Benalla Flexible Learning Centre student Kai Easterbrook for their short story Permanence about a young person facing the death of a loved one.
Lila Plunkett of Goulburn Valley Grammar School won the junior short story category for her short story Ash and Embers about a family’s dramatic escape from a bushfire.
The youth poetry section was won by GVGS student Zoe De Paola for her poem Fading, while Darcy Mintern of Grahamvale Primary School won the junior poetry category for his entry A Hopeful Dream.
Winning entries from all categories can be read at www.furphystory.com.au