Every year, authors from around Australia submit their best short stories to the Furphy Literary Awards, and every year, an anthology of the short-listed stories is published.
When a copy of The Furphy Anthology 2023 was sent to the newsroom, I jumped at the opportunity to read it because, to be frank, I just love reading.
I also had the privilege to attend and report on the Furphy Literary Awards 2023 ceremony, so the shortlist was familiar to me.
So, without further ado, welcome to my (spoiler-free) thoughts, feelings and ramblings about the stories from cover to cover of the collection.
Naturally, I started my reading journey with the winner.
Away to Me by Jen Rewell was the winning tale, and it was nothing like I had expected.
It was moving and imaginative, with brilliant storytelling.
I was there with Half-Arthur as I moved through the short story.
When I read the last sentence, I wished there was more.
I finished story number one and was now more excited, as the bar had been set for the rest of the anthology.
The following story was titled The Drey by Eugenie Pusenjak, which was highly commended by the judges.
While Away to Me was written in the third person, The Drey was written in the first person, my personal favourite.
I was transported to this new character’s life, seeing it as they did.
I’m no expert in fiction writing.
Still, as a reader, I found Pusenjak’s use of short, sharp sentences really impactful.
As a journalist, I find myself scared to write short sentences as they sometimes sacrifice flow for impact.
The way Pusenjak wrote felt effortless, and she developed the character in a unique way.
Once again, the bar was raised, and I was ready to move on to the next story.
The third story I read was The Lucky Country by Natalie A. Vella (another to be highly commended), and I’m glad I did.
It sounds strange, but I felt I was being told a story by someone I knew.
It was almost comforting, like hearing a story from a friend as you drove along a highway.
I loved reading it, and anyone who gets the opportunity to read it should jump at the chance.
There were 16 stories in total, and I found something to love about every tale.
I may be biased, as short stories will always have a place in my heart.
I find them similar to journalism in a way.
There’s always more to the story, but being able to enjoy a snippet of someone’s life or a moment in the broader event can be just as engaging.
I can’t wait to read next year’s collection.
But that’s just one woman’s opinion.
Djembe Archibald is a cadet journalist at The News.