Furphy Literary Award goes national, offers $15k prize
A new national short story prize called the Furphy Literary Award is launching in 2020 with a $15,000 first prize, making it the richest prize for a short story in Australia.
Originally established in 1993 as the Joseph Furphy Commemorative Literary Prize, which was open to Goulburn Valley residents, the award has been re-launched as a national prize this year, with brewing company Lion sponsoring the $15,000 prize money in the main category.
The award is open to previously unpublished stories of up to 5000 words, with the winner to receive a residency at La Trobe University in addition to the $15,000 prize. A junior and youth category is open to entries of short stories and poetry, with a $1350 prize pool attached.
Sam Furphy, one of Joseph Furphy’s great-grand nephews, told the Age in November, ‘The theme will be Australian life, in all its complexity and diversity.
‘Obviously the Furphy name has a rich connection to rural Australia but we want a modern look on the nation, whether that’s still in the bush or in the suburbs of a capital city.’
Judges for the award are historian Clare Wright, journalist and author John Harms, playwright Marg Hickey, crime novelist John Kerr, journalist and writer Thornton McCamish, and novelist Anson Cameron, who is also a relative of Joseph Furphy.
Entries are open now, until 30 April. The winner will be announced in July.
For more information about the award, see the website.
Category: Awards Local news
