Tasmanian Writers’ Centre
Pic: of Adam Thompson
The Tasmanian Writers Centre is delighted to announce Launceston-based writer
Adam Thompson as the winner of the inaugural Emerging Tasmanian Aboriginal
Writers Award (ETAWA).
The award was presented last night at Hobart’s Theatre Royal, at the opening event
of the 2017 Tasmanian Writers and Readers Festival and Hidden Stories
program.
Respected Tasmanian Aboriginal writer, puralia meenamatta (Jim Everett),
presented Adam with the award for his short story, Sonny. Adam will receive $1,200
prize money and professional support via membership of the Tasmanian Writers
Centre.
Adam is a pakana (Tasmanian Aboriginal) man with a passion for telling stories
about Aboriginal themes and characters. He has worked for the Tasmanian
Aboriginal Centre for 15 years and has a sound knowledge of the Tasmanian
Aboriginal community and the issues that are important to Tasmanian Aboriginal
people. Earlier this year, Adam received a Tasmanian Government Aboriginal Arts
grant to produce a compilation of short stories under the guidance of a mentor. He is
also currently co-writing a short-form comedy series for television.
The Emerging Tasmanian Aboriginal Writers Award is an annual award, open to
Tasmanian Aboriginal writers aged 16 years and older, who are not professional or
established writers, but have had more than one full-length work published by a
third-party publisher or produced by a professional theatre company. Entries to the
award can range from poetry, songs, short fiction, non-fiction (essay,
autobiographical or biographical work), an excerpt from a play, or illustrated
stories.
This year’s entries, which were assessed by judges Bruce Pascoe, Julie Gough and
Jillian Mundy addressed the theme: Reflections on being Aboriginal in Tasmania
today.
The 2017 Tasmanian Writers and Readers Festival runs from September 14-
17 at Hadley’s Orient Hotel, Hobart.
For program information and bookings, visit: www.taswrf.org
