Bushfires, pandemics, and the never-ending battle over urban development … these are our stories.
By Catherine Watson
THE story of the Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction starts in 2019 with an act of generosity by Phillip Island writer and arts patron Phyllis Papps, who wanted to encourage other local writers in an age of dwindling options for mainstream publication.
When the first competition was launched in 2019 at the Phillip Island Story Gatherers Festival, we had little idea where it would lead.
The prize is now well established on the Gippsland writing calendar, with 86 entries submitted in the first two years of the prize, by writers ranging from professionals to people making their first attempt at an extended writing piece.
THE story of the Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction starts in 2019 with an act of generosity by Phillip Island writer and arts patron Phyllis Papps, who wanted to encourage other local writers in an age of dwindling options for mainstream publication.
When the first competition was launched in 2019 at the Phillip Island Story Gatherers Festival, we had little idea where it would lead.
The prize is now well established on the Gippsland writing calendar, with 86 entries submitted in the first two years of the prize, by writers ranging from professionals to people making their first attempt at an extended writing piece.
While most entries contain an element of personal memoir, the focus is overwhelmingly on the environment. Our writers celebrate the natural beauty of Gippsland, but there is also an awareness of its fragility. The concerns grow more urgent after the calamitous bush fires of the 2019-20 summer.
We celebrated the 2019 prize winners with a gathering at The Gurdies Winery at which the esteemed non-fiction writer, Don Watson, talked about his own journey as a writer. Two weeks later, the world was grappling with a pandemic.
We celebrated the 2019 prize winners with a gathering at The Gurdies Winery at which the esteemed non-fiction writer, Don Watson, talked about his own journey as a writer. Two weeks later, the world was grappling with a pandemic.
| Future historians looking to know what was on the minds of Gippsland writers in 2019 and 2020 will find some of the answers in these stories. The Prize enters its third year with backing from ArtSpace Wonthaggi (which is now auspicing the prize), the West Gippsland Regional Library Corporation and Bass Coast Shire Council. And now we have the Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction 2019 & 2020 anthology. When we decided to publish a collection of prize-winning and commended essays from the first two years of the competition, we were thinking small and plain. Our book designer, Jeni Jobe, persuaded us to think bigger and to incorporate works by local artists. Jeni also persuaded us that since the anthology was to be the first of a series (we hope), it should be a collector’s item. So we have published just 200 copies, individually numbered. We invited artists from Bass Coast and surrounds to match their artworks with the essays in this anthology. While some of the matches were obvious, we were surprised and intrigued by others, another demonstration of the fact that writers’ and artists’ brains work in very different ways. |  Order your copy The Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction 2019 & 2020 Anthology is on sale for $30 including postage. To order your copy, please deposit funds to our Bendigo Bank account: Acc Name: BCNFP BSB: 633 000 Acc no: 182 308 429 Include your name as a bank reference and email editor@basscoastpost.com with your name and postal address. |
We are delighted with the result. It’s the latest in a series of cross-cultural collaborations that have inspired Bass Coast writers, visual artists, musicians and film-makers over the past couple of years, and a sign of our burgeoning arts scene.
The Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction 2019 & 2020 anthology and the 2021 Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction will be launched at ArtSpace Wonthaggi next Sunday, from 2-4pm.
See details of the 2021 Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction. Read the prize-winning entries in the Bass Coast Post.
The Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction 2019 & 2020 anthology and the 2021 Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction will be launched at ArtSpace Wonthaggi next Sunday, from 2-4pm.
See details of the 2021 Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction. Read the prize-winning entries in the Bass Coast Post.