The winners of the 2023 Banjo Paterson Writing Awards have been announced, with Kaitlyn Rutledge of Woodstock and of Timothy Guy of Cowra among the prize recipients.
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Jonathan Cant, of Sydney took out the Contemporary Poetry section for his emotive and powerful reflection on the experiences of war, Thunderstorm at Newton Boyd.
The winning entries were announced at the Orange Readers and Writers Festival at the Hotel Canobolas by the Orange Mayor Jason Hamling, who thanked everyone who entered.
"I'm thrilled to see this year's awards attracting entries from all around Australia, but also delighted to see some local winners," Cr Hamling said.
"The judges were definitely spoilt for choice with the quality of entries this year."
Jonathan Cant is a Sydney-based writer, poet, and musician. His work has been Longlisted for the 2023 Fish Poetry Prize, and the Flying Islands Poetry Manuscript Prize, Commended in the W. B. Yeats Poetry Prize, and Highly Commended in the South Coast Writers Centre Awards.
Jonathan's poems have appeared in Cordite Poetry Review, Brushstrokes III, and Beyond Words Literary Magazine.
The judge said his poem affected the reader though precise and sustained choice of language.
"This sustained and consistent use of exact words and phrases enhanced the mood of the poem. It also identifies the relationship between words, imagery and language patterns," the judge said.
The winner of the Short Story section was Cowra's Timothy Guy, for Anna, a story about two young children who encounter bushranger Ben Hall. The judge said the story "captured the reader from the outset and continued with a frisson of excitement to entertain until the end."
The winner in the Children's section was Kaitlyn Rutledge, of Woodstock, for Blood Runs Faster Than Water is a study of personal trauma for a character trapped in hospital.
The judges said Kaitlyn's "use of a variety of sentence styles have been used with purpose and intent. The movement between past and present is very effective. This writing style allows the reader to experience empathy with your character as well as past and present emotions".
The Children's second prize went to Ebony Inman, of Mullion Creek, for We're Gonna Be Okay about the emotional aftermath of a car accident, while third prize was won by Jenna Poore, of the South Coast, with The journey through the Gibson Desert, which captured a cameleer's journey.
All the winning entries can be viewed on the Central West Libraries' website www.cwl.nsw.gov.au
