They say that it’s never too late to try something new. And this year’s entrants to the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition have proven just that. With the most senior entrant aged 92 years old, and two of the prize-winners in their 60s, this year’s competition showed you can be an emerging writer at any age.
Competition judge, Wiradjuri writer Tara June Winch launched the competition by . “It’s really important to recognise that you can be an emerging writer at 60. You’ve lived a full, long life. You’ve got a lot more perspective on the world than a 19-year-old that hasn’t really got past the confession stage of the story. I want a story by a senior citizen, particularly our elders.”
And senior writers turned out in force. Winch and fellow judge Behrouz Boochani were thrilled by the response. They awarded a joint runner up prize to 61-year-old Arky Michael for his entry, .
Songbird was written about Michael’s experience accompanying his father as he returned to his homeland in Cyprus before his death. The strength of the imagery that Michael wrote prompted the judges to call it a “wonder of a story.”
Speaking to SBS Voices about the experience of being an emerging writer in his 60s, Michael said that he is inspired by people who do big things later in life. “I save all these stories when I read articles about people who have changed in their lives after 60, or they’ve had a turning point in their 70s or 80s,” he says.
I save all these stories when I read articles about people who have changed in their lives after 60, or they’ve had a turning point in their 70s or 80s.
Winning a prize in the Emerging Writers’ Competition, he said, proved that he can still be “vital and vibrant and productive at any age.
“Isn’t it wonderful that you can be a 60-year-old emerging writer?”
Miranda Jackich, also in her 60s, received the Highly Commended prize for her story, . The story detailed her complicated relationship with her mother, an immigrant from the former Yugoslavia.
The judges called it “a stark and intimate portrait of a mother and daughter and of many homelands.”
Jakich that she could only write so intimately after her mother’s death in 2018. That distance allowed her to “write a story that laid out the effect she had on my life without vilifying her,” she said.
It's not Jakich’s first time entering the competition. Her entry to the inaugural SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition in 2020 also did well, with her story Fish People appearing in the official anthology,
Jakich’s entry demonstrates the advantage that senior writers have; an ability to bring untold stories to light.
Jakich’s entry demonstrates the advantage that senior writers have; an ability to bring untold stories to light. That freedom echoes during the launch of the 2021 competition: “Don’t mind if you’ve never written it down…We’re looking for heart and truth, and just a good yarn.”
Michael thinks that it’s important for other writers of his age to know that “you can be 61 and suddenly you can write a story and it can do well in a competition.”
Both Jakich and Michael’s prizewinning entries will now be considered for inclusion in this year’s anthology featuring the top submissions to the 2021 SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition. Both writers proving that it’s never too late to tell your story.
The SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition is back for 2022 and open for entries until September 21. Write a non-fiction memoir story on the theme of ‘Emergence’ for your chance to be awarded the $5000 first place prize, $3000 second place or two runners up prizes of $1000. The top entries will also be published in an anthology by Hardie Grant. Go to to register and find out more.
