Australia’s Best Yarn revealed – Tasmanian high school teacher wins $50,000 first prize – Australia’s Best Yarn revealed
Unnervingly realistic sci-fi story wins national short story competition
A Tasmanian high school teacher has won the $50,000 first prize in the national short story competition, The Best Australian Yarn.
Jacqueline MacDonald, an aspiring writer from Penguin on the Apple Isle’s north coast, took home the prize for her 2,000-word fictional piece Split Life – an eerie exploration of the potential of human cloning in politics.
The story wowed competition judges with its range and ambition.
The Best Australian Yarn seeks to uncover creative talent from across the country, providing an opportunity for both published and unpublished writers to share in the world’s richest short story prize pool.
The competition was created by The West Australian and in 2023 has been supported by leading education provider Navitas.
An increased prize pool of $75,000 and two new categories saw entries rise 20% to 5,500 submissions.
The new First Nations Storytelling Prize was won by proud Wiradjuri woman, Sharleigh Crittenden for River Fish, while Harold Legaspi, a Philippines-born, New South Wales resident with Tagalog as his native dialect, took home the new Navitas English as a Second Language Prize for Hero.
The winning stories were shortlisted by the Prize Jury consisting of prize-winning Australian authors, Robert Drewe and Holden Sheppard, acclaimed publishers Terri-ann White and Rachel Bin Salleh and West Australian Newspaper’s Editor in Chief, Anthony De Ceglie.
The Best Australian Yarn is the brainchild of West Australian Newspaper’s Editor in Chief Anthony De Ceglie, who said The West Australian and Navitas are proud to continue championing storytelling and literary excellence.
“By inviting entries from amateur and professional writers alike, the competition plays an important role in unearthing exciting new talent and amplifying voices from all corners of Australia,”
– De Ceglie said.
“I can truly say on behalf of our judging panel that we have been blown away by the quality of this year’s entries which are a testament to the enduring power of the written word.”
Prize Jury judge Terri-ann White said of the winning story, “Split Life impressed me with its ambition and range and stood above the rest of the shortlisted stories. I look forward to seeing this writer flourish with the confidence that this recognition can enable.”
Prize Jury judge Robert Drewe said
“With short stories you’re waiting for something to detonate. That’s what says you’ve struck a well-told story. It doesn’t have to be tragic, or violent, or overly sentimental and nostalgic, but the reader should feel, even subconsciously, ‘Wow! That strikes a chord, I’ve got something in common with this experience.’ And the winner definitely has the wow factor.
“The vast scope of the stories entered – tales from and about the entire country – further impressed me this year. As I was reading them, I envisaged hundreds of Australians, of all ages and backgrounds, from city students to outback farmers’ wives, bent over their keyboards in the dead of night.”
The winners of the individual categories in The Best Australian Yarn competition were announced overnight at a ceremony at WA Museum Boola Bardip:
- Overall Winner – $50,000 | ‘Split Life’ Jacqueline MacDonald (TAS)
- Runner up – $3,000 | ‘A Highway to Call Home’ Sam Cecins (WA)
- Navitas ESL Winner – $3,000 | ‘Hero’ Harold Legaspi (NSW)
- First Nations Storytelling Winner – $3,000 | ‘River Fish’ Sharleigh Crittenden (NSW)
- Regional Australia Winner – $3000 | ‘The Expert’ Rachel Van Nierop (WA)
- GenWest Youth Winner (12-14)- $1,500 | ‘Orange Slices’ Ruby Burke (NSW)
- GenWest Youth Winner (15-18)- $1,500 | ‘School’s Out’ Till O’Callaghan (WA)
- Eight shortlisted overall winner finalists – $1,000 each
‘Grey Paint’ Josh Lowe
‘The Pyrocene’ Rebecca Higgie
‘Dorothy’s To-Do List’ Peter Byrne
‘Dog Days’ Keith Johnson
‘Kalabaw’ Cal Guino
‘Red Light Running’ Lily Thomson
‘The Culinarian’ Cameron Rutherford
‘In Whose Hand’ Susan Francis
Voting is now open until 2.59am AEDT on 12 December for The Best Australian Yarn’s Reader’s Choice Award, where the most popular story will win $2,000.
A special 64-page edition of The Sunday Times’ STM magazine this weekend will feature five of the most powerful and poignant winning entries, with illustrations by Naomi Craigs.
The top 50 stories can be read at thewest.com.au/yarn
Entries are currently open for The Best Australian Yarn’s sister competition, The Best Australian Short Film Competition, which has a prize pool of $77,500. More information at bestshortfilm.com.au
Media Release – Seven
Australia’s Best Yarn revealed – Tasmanian high school teacher wins $50,000 first prize
TV Central Seven content HERE
