The eight best entries from the Tasmanian Writers’ Prize 2025 as selected by Rayne Allinson, Liz Evans & Cameron Hindrum

Cover image: Adventure Bay, Bruny Island by Pen Tayler

Forty South has been celebrating Tasmanian people, places, environment and culture, and reflecting on what it means to be Tasmanian for nearly thirty years. As islanders, we are particularly conscious of the waters that separate us, but also of the powerful journeys of
connection that unite us. The stories that emerge from our "island-resonant" theme for this competition display a strong sense of place and express the challenges of change.

This year we have once again included the winning stories from the Junior and Senior sections of our Young Tasmanian Writers’ Prize 2024. We hope their inclusion will inspire other young Tasmanians to dream new stories of their own.

Gabrielle Samson | A boy in a box 

Elizabeth Scott | Allan Gerrity: boom and bust
Tina Cartwright | Tiny blue flame
Pauline Cleary |  Riding the wave
Tess Crawley | The Piper
Deborah Jowitt | Silver Bay
Phoebe Robertson | The preservation of the Pacific
Sandra Rutter | Unco

BONUS STORIES from the Young Tasmanian Writers’ Prize 2024
Amaya Lee (St Mary''s College) | Fever dreams
Samuel Castle  (The Friends' School) | Hinsby