MINCA's Environmental Writing Competition 2024
MINCA thanks and congratulates all 21 entrants to our inaugural Environmental Writing Competition. Many thanks also to Maureen Alsop for organising the competition and judging the Junior Prize and to John Ryan for judging the Adult prizes. The standard of entries was very high, with a wonderful range of environmental themes and different literary structures being explored.
The Junior and Adult winners were announced on 18 August at Claude's Block at the conclusion of the third Winter Walks 2024 with some entries read aloud (see photo below).
The Winners were:
Junior - Listen by Mia Rodemark (click here)
Adult - Myrtle by Christine Johnson (click here)
Other prizes and commended entries in the Adult section were:
Second - EOFY by George Hirst (click here)
Third - Blue Tigers by Liz Downes (click here)
Highly Commended - Kookaburras Sit on an Old Gum Tree by Karen Conrad (click here)
Commended - A Moment on Magnetic Island by Daniella Conser (click here)
Commended - True North by Nathan King (click here)
General comments from the Judges: .
Maureen Alsop: "It is a great honour to read reflections on Magnetic Island’s environment! Gratitude to MINCA for all the work they’ve done over the years, and for supporting this literary project! Thank you to John Ryan’s exceptional support with this endeavour!"
John Ryan: "Although the task of selecting and ranking creative writing submissions is never an easy one, it was a pleasure to take part, as a judge, in the inaugural MINCA Environmental Writing Competition. In reading the poetry, fiction, non-fiction, plays, and hybrid pieces submitted to the competition, I looked for works that evoke the ecological and cultural uniqueness of Magnetic Island. Within vast webs of experience, particular moments of encounter emerge in these pieces. Interactions between the Island’s inhabitants—human and otherwise—create a distinctive sense of place, a local character, a genius loci.
. . .
The above selections represent the excellence of all submissions to the MINCA Environmental Writing Competition. With this, I feel confident that the MINCA Prize will become a fixture within future place-based environmental writing in Australia. In closing I’d like to thank Maureen Alsop and Magnetic Island Nature Care Association Inc. for bringing this competition to life."
Click here for the full compendium including comments about individual prizes and commended entries or see below for links to all of the individual entries.
ALL ENTRIES (in alphabetical order by author).
Click on the author to read their entry or click here to read all entries in one document
Click on the author to read their entry or click here to read all entries in one document
- Ash Aldridge - Ballad of the Skink
- Aasiyah Clark - Whispers of Magnetic Island
- Anne Cole - Island Haiku Trilogy
- Karen Conrad - Kookaburras Sit in an Old Gum Tree
- Daniella Conser - A Moment on Magnetic Island
- Sweekriti Dhungana - A Single Voice
- Liz Downes - Blue Tigers
- Rebecca Faulkner - Mont Saint-Michel
- Ronald Groth - The Last Beautiful Escape
- George Hirst - EOFY
- Peter Jackson - No Paperbark Tears
- Christine Johnson - Myrtle
- Nathan King - True North
- Libby Matkin - Maggie, Birds of Prey
- Charlie McColl - Grains of Sand for a Travel Buddy
- Amana Newman - Ode to Magnetic Island
- Luna Prince - Not an Island
- Mia Rodemark - Listen (Junior prize)
- Phill Stephenson - Magnetic Island: A Symphony of Nature
- Julien van der Schouw - Cyclone
- Michael Wilson - Planting Seeds and Polystyrene Beads
Once again, MINCA thanks the Judges and every entrant for all their time, effort and creativity. Magnetic Island is a special place and this has been beautifully represented in the writing by all the entrants.
