ARCHIMEDE Fusillo’s short stories and novels have garnered plenty of recognition. Now the popular wordsmith will be returning the favour as the judge of Write Now!, Yarra Plenty Regional Library’s short story competition for would-be authors.
“To be asked to judge other people’s work comes with a certain responsibility and I take that very seriously,” says Fusillo.
“I am lucky enough to have won awards and I know what it is like for someone to say, ‘I really love your work; in fact, I love it so much I’m going to give you a prize’,” he says.
Fusillo, whose novels for young adults include Sparring with Shadows and The Dons, has judged writing competitions before and is undaunted by the prospect of having to read up to 900 submissions.
“I read each entry at least once, but you get a sense very quickly about which ones stand out,” he says. “The ones that resonate with you, you put to one side and give them a second and third read.”
So what will Fusillo be looking for?
“I’m looking for the ability to use words efficiently, effectively and economically to tell a complete story,” he says. “You can’t award a story that is a great story but structurally is all over the place.”
Fusillo recently won the Globo Tricolore, which recognises Italians who are famous abroad but unknown in their homeland, and he has previously picked up the Alan Marshall Award and the Mary Grant Bruce Award for Children’s Literature for his short stories.
Entering local library awards first encouraged Fusillo to take his writing to the next level, yet he admits with a shrug that he didn’t always win.
“I was commended for one or two and that gave me the confidence to enter the next one,” he says.
Fusillo hopes the Yarra Plenty Library short story competition, which is open to scribes of all ages, will encourage the next wave of writers. “There are a lot of people writing in this area, from kids to newly arrived migrants to refugees, so the idea is to try and tap into their stories and give them an outlet,” he says.
Winners will receive cash prizes and have their stories published in an anthology. For many of those entering, it will be the first time a professional has read their work.
“If a professional writer – for what it’s worth – acknowledges their work and says it stands out and is a winner, it might be just enough to propel someone to say, ‘You know what? Perhaps I will write that short story, join that writers’ group or perhaps do a class on writing’. That’s what it’s really all about.”
Write Now! is open until September 30. Details: visit yprl.vic.gov.au.
