Thank you to everyone who wrote a story for the 2022 Long Way Home story competition. There were so many good stories and poems jostling for the shortlist, too many to fit into one book. There’s been a lot to write about. Dramatic times call for brave story-telling, and nothing can stop a writer.
These 65 shortlisted works will be published in Let Go – Stories from the Clarence Valley 2022, with the book going on sale in early December. The winners will be announced in September. Judges were Kathryn Goldie, Ilana Kaplin, Janelle Brown, Roweena Shakespeare, Jacqui Hinshaw and Claire Aman.
We take our hats off to everyone who wrote a story. To bring a short story from idea stage to deadline, takes imagination, effort and courage. We hope everyone keeps writing. We appreciate the South Grafton Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank for their generous support of this community project.
Here are the shortlisted authors:
Open category
Jan Booth, Letting Go of Joy
Jo Parry, Two Worlds
Karla Hubbard , The Rains
Loueen Winters, My Nephew
Maggie McDade, Neighbour
Meg Rowe, Ant
Sarah Rose-Cherry, Letters to Georgia
Stephanie Haines, Hold On
Zach Jones, Changing Tides
High school category
Aidan Menzies, Paddlin’ the Zambezi, Year 7, Grafton High School
Ada Hitchins Sage, Move On, Year 9, Home School
Brooke Chapman, Unreal, Year 9, McAuley Catholic College
Matilda Neal, Round One of the 2022 Floods, Year 10, Clarence Valley Anglican School
Elsie Stewart, Lockdown, Year 7, Grafton High School
Harmin Singh, Camping, Year 8, Grafton High School
Jacquiline Diaz, Let Go! Year 7, Home School
Lotte Pereira, Grief, Year 9, Grafton High School
Nadia Smith, Facing the Forest, Year 11, Grafton High School
Syian Thompson, The Slam of the Door, Year 10, Clarence Valley Anglican School
Primary school category
Alyssa Dixon, The Spider, Year K, Tucabia Public School
Alva Eastwood, Flooded Soil, Year 6, Grafton Public School
Ashton Rainbow, An Adventure, Year 2, Ulmarra Public School
Autumn Enns, The Flood, Year 5, St James’ Primary School, Yamba
Buddy Walker, Catching Bingiing, Year 6, Baryulgil Public School
Chainey Gosper, My Life So Far, Year 6, St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton
Chloe Edwards, Let Go, Year 6, St James’ Primary School, Yamba
David McLean, Let It Go! Year 1, Baryulgil Public School
Dusty Ellem, Invisible, Year 1, Copmanhurst Public School
Ellie Denem, Let Go, Year 5, Ulmarra Public School
Ember McKittrick, Unicorn Mystery, Year 2, Copmanhurst Public School
Emily Archer, Gone Too Soon, Year 5, St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton
Emmitt Caldwell, Petie, Year K, Cowper Public School
Evie Rae, The Tale of a Dandelion, Year 5, Gulmarrad Public School
Felicity Causley, Let Go, Year 6, Iluka Public School
Isobel Keane, The Memory, Year 5, Grafton Public School
Jaali Walker, Let Go, Year 3, Baryulgil Public School
Jamieson Allen, The Falls, Year 5, St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton
Jonah Plummer, Let Go, Year 6, Iluka Public School
Joseph Hartley, Corn Crows, Year 6, Nymboida Public School
Kaden Burnside, Cutie The Elephant, Year 1, Tucabia Public School
Locklen Baker, Bob and the Megalodon Tooth, Year 2, Harwood Public School
Luke Sanna, My Dog, Year 2, Cowper Public School
Lyla Woodlock, Duchess, Year 3, Copmanhurst Public School
Mia Quelch, Learning to Let Go, Year 6, Pacific Valley Christian School
Noah Robinson, My Dog, Year K, Baryulgil Public School
Olive Pereira, When the Seasons Change, Year 6, Grafton Public School
Oscar Woods, First Day of School, Year 6, Grafton Public School
Pippa Brown, Two Hands on the Wheel, Year 5, South Grafton Public School
Pippi Short, Let Go, Year 5, St James’ Primary School, Yamba
Rhys Staples, Lacher Prise, Year 6, South Grafton Public School
Scott Halls, Let Go, Year 2, Cowper Public School
Stella Skeels, The Forest Shadows, Year 6, St Mary’s Primary School, Grafton
Willow Seivers, The Sandon River Bay, Year 5, St James’ Primary School, Yamba
Zoe Cameron, The Eagle Soars, Year 6, South Grafton Public School
Zoe Commerford, Free Fall, Year 5, Westlawn Public School
The Long Way Home 