Some 16 shortlisted writers were on tenterhooks as the winner and place getters of the 2023 Furphy Literary Award were announced at Shepparton Art Museum on Saturday night (July 29).
The winners were:
First: Jen Rewell ‘Away to Me’
Second: Eugenie Pusenjak ‘The Drey’
Third: Natalie Vella ‘The Lucky Country’
Jen Rewell’s uplifting and offbeat love story ‘Away to Me’ won a cheque for $15,000 at the ceremony. Along with the cash prize, Jen’s story will anchor the 2023 Furphy Anthology and she will be invited to a residency at La Trobe University to work on her writing.
More than 600 entries were received this year, with the judging panel comprising Anson Cameron, Margaret Hickey, John Harms, Stephanie Holt, Thornton McCamish and John Kerr carefully assessing the 71 stories on the Long List.
Furphy Literary Award director Sam Furphy said: “The quality of the shortlisted and finalist entries was outstanding again this year and just shows what writing talent we have across the country. I would like to congratulate all writers who participated, in particular our winner, placegetters and shortlist who put forward such outstanding works.”
On behalf of the judges, Anson Cameron said this about Jen Rewell’s winning story ‘Away to Me’: “It’s a love story, written with a light touch. It’s funny. The language is clear, and the author has a close knowledge of the rural world that Joseph Furphy would have recognized and enjoyed.
“It’s populated with rodeo clowns and decorated with CB radios atop kitchen fridges … a woman feeds her lover steamed lemon curd pudding. I salivated freely while reading it.
But above all the story has a pigheaded refusal to conform to reality. Just when you think it might be headed for a clichéd gloom it ambushes you with fabulism and, perish the thought, happiness.”
Jen Rewell grew up in a small beachside town in Western Australia. She studied Media at university and then completed the Broadcasting course at the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She has worked as a journalist and copywriter.
In 2020 she returned to her early love of creative writing, winning a mentorship in the Emerging Writers Program run by the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA. She lives in Perth and is currently working on her first novel.
Second place ($3000 plus publication in The Furphy Anthology 2023) was awarded to Eugenie Pusenjak for ‘The Drey’.
Judges’ comments were: “In her 4900 words Ms Pusenjak keeps the telling of the story moving forward at a masterly, varied pace.
“She conjures up two generations of the protagonist’s family history, the first generation in a very few fast brush strokes indeed. “The protagonist’s residential and social past does not take very many more strokes. All this is related in the ups and downs of the action following page 1. It’s the pace of a crime or spy thriller, stripped down to short story.
“It will likely make you angry about housing today too. Very angry, I hope. Oh, you will find out what a drey is. Precisely when the protagonist does.”
And in third place ($2000 plus publication in The Furphy Anthology 2023) was ‘The Lucky Country’ by Natalie Vella. Coincidentally, Natalie also placed third in last year’s competition.
Judges’ comments were: “This fierce, charming, and unsettling story tackles that classic theme in Australian writing: the migrant experience. It’s also about power, and corruption; about women’s solidarity and friendship, and women’s anger. But what makes it such a pleasure to read is the irresistible pull of the story itself. Vella’s Liele hooks the reader from the first lines: there’s no putting it down until we know what’s going to happen to her.”
Adam Furphy said, “We are always excited to see more great stories coming forward from writers around the country for this Award.”