In 2022, I longlisted in the Sydney Hammond Memorial Short Story Competition. My story, titled “The Divided Village,” was selected amongst 157 other entrants.
It was a great surprise and honour to learn such a thing. To make this even cooler, my story will also appear in Hawkeye Books’ annual anthology book (yep, a real, printed book), which is available for purchase now!
If you’d like to get your own copy, you can head to Hawkeye Books here. And if you’d like to read an excerpt of my story, you can scroll down just a little bit more.
The Divided Village
A voice came from inside. If Piri’s ear wasn’t pressed against the door, she wouldn’t have heard it over the yelling, screaming, horses rearing, dogs barking, and fire crackling of the burning huts in the village.
‘You may enter.’
Piri and her brother, Jamaki, burst through the front door. Slamming it shut, an ivory bowl clattered to the floor and shattered. Before she could apologise, the shaman’s centipede was already cleaning up the shards.
She scanned the room. Other than the red glow from the fires tainting the transparent, protective barrier that was the aqueous ceiling, everything looked normal. Every object sat in their place. Every book was shelved. Every dish was racked.
And that was the problem.
‘What are you doing?’ she said. ‘The village is fallen. The fire is engulfing homes. Everyone is leaving. You must pack your things.’
The shaman watched her carefully.
His skin was wrinkled, faded. His robe, colourful, dirty, fraying. The beads around his neck told stories, signifying where he’d travelled, how many villages he’d lived in, how many family members he’d lost.
‘You are worried, Piri? Jamaki doesn’t seem to be.’
Jamaki hid behind her with a giggle.
‘He’s…
Read the rest of the story here.
