Author(s): David Campbell

Poetry

Following the success of the 2012 edition of Award Winning Bush Verse and Stories (AWBV), which won the Collected Verse Book of the Year award at the Australian Bush Laureate Awards, Melbourne Books proudly presents the second edition of AWBV. AWBV is the first nationally distributed anthology wholly dedicated to award-winning poems and stories that take inspiration from the Australian bush and way of life. Bush writing is a quintessentially Australian genre, and many of our literary greats, including Banjo Paterson and C. J. Dennis, are considered masters of the form. These days the bush community is thriving with numerous festivals and competitions, ranging from Bundaberg's Bush Lantern to Tamworth's Blackened Billy; Ipswich's Poetry Feast to the Laura Arts Festival Literary Awards. Other competitions featured in the 2013 edition of AWBV include: ABPA National Championships Gilgandra Coo-ee Festival Hal Porter Short Story Competition Boyup Brook Literary Festival Morrisett Hunter Bush Poets Written Competition Eaglehawk and Dahlia Arts Festival Bryan Kelleher Award Dunedoo Bush Poetry Festival This year, the anthology will also profile two distinguished bush writers: the multi-award-winning Graham Fredriksen, who tragically passed away in 2010, and Australian storyteller extraordinaire Henry Lawson. Both of these talented writers were handpicked by the 2013 editor, David Campbell. Much like its precursor, AWBV 2013 is committed to showcasing Australia's diverse literary landscape. In this way, it offers an opportunity to engage with such a unique artform, while also bringing together the many, but potentially disparate, bush communities represented by these works. About the editor David Campbell began taking writing seriously in 2001, and won his first bush poetry award the year after. Since then, he has gone on to win three Tamworth Blackened Billy Awards, three Bundaberg Bush Lanterns, two Boree Logs, the Bronze Swagman, two Henry Lawson Society of NSW Awards, a North Pine Camp Oven, the Rolf Boldrewood Award, four successive Victorian Bush Championships, and two NSW Championships. He has contributed to three poetry books for children, and in 2007 published Skycatcher, an anthology of original Australian bush verse, and Morning Light, a collection of prize-winning short stories. His writing has been published in a number of books and magazines, including The Best Australian Stories 2005, Award Winning Australian Writing 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and Award Winning Bush Verse and Stories 2012.