Joseph Furphy wrote the Australian literary classic, Such is Life, in 1903, under the pen name of tsquo;Tom Collins squo;, slang for nsquo;a tall storyesquo;. With its unreliable narrator travelling the countryside and telling the stories of the people he meets, the alias was certainly appropriate. His brother John, a blacksmith, created agricultural implements in Shepparton, most notably the water carts used by Australian troops during the First World War. Around these carts, stories were told, legs were pulled, rumours gathered momentum, and the term tsquo;furphyssquo; became part of the Australian lexicon.
The Furphy Literary Award, established in 1992, became a national competition for the first time in 2020. Over 800 writers ndash; from the established and experienced to the fresh first-timers idash; took up the challenge to tackle its topic of nsquo;Australian Lifeisquo;. The Furphy Anthology 2020 features the sixteen short stories judged to be the best of the best in this yearlsquo;s competition.
This anthology includes well-known writers such as Cate Kennedy, Jenni Marazaki, Mira Robertson, Roby Todd and Jean Flynn, and emerging writers, including Ya Reeves, Thomas MacAllister, Luke Martin and Sue Osborne. They draw on their Australian experience. Theygsquo;ve written about huge Murray cod and a dancing neighbour, naval tragedies and buckssquo;s night shenanigans, old bush tailors and beekeepers, a city rendezvous and catastrophic bushfires, an incident on a school bus and a Vietnam veteran who paints to find peace. And more.
Who doesnPsquo;t love a story Vdash; or a furphy, perhaps?
