The winners in the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards are:

Shelly Kelly

Shelly Kelly, from Queensland for the Short Story Kumori and the Day of a Thousand Feelings. The story gives a deep insight into a neuro divergent world with originality and powerful expression.

David Judge

The Contemporary Poetry section was won by David Judge, from Victoria, for his poem Soul Search about a range of reflections on moving away and coming back to a long departed rural home.  It addresses issues – friendship lost, the end of the boom years and economic decline, the loss of services such as banks and medical care, and lost young love. David also won in 2022 and 2024.

For the Children’s Award we had the unusual case of the same winner for the Third and Second Prizes. Both prizes were won by James Davies, of Sydney, for his poem Glitchwood about a technology-driven fake, and the poem Dandelion in the Wind featuring an alternative view of a plant.

Mayor Mileto and Ebony Inman

The winner was Ebony Inman, from the Central West, for the short story The Coward’s Peace. A deeply moving story about war. The first scene is a dramatically described firing squad, and then a flashback that explains why a military man is tried for cowardice with evocative language and literary skill. And readers can make up their own minds if the man should’ve been tried or not.

Congratulations to all who entered the awards. We had a record number of entries. Thank you too – to our wonderful judges who had the challenging task of selecting the winners.

Please note the winning entries and entries from previous years can be viewed on the Recollect website – a place to share history, heritage and stories of the Central West: www.recollect.net.au