Shepparton News – Launch of The Furphy Anthology for 2022
Launching the 2022 Furphy Anthology at Readings in Melbourne.
Natalie Vella is an award-winning writer and audio producer from Melbourne. She works as a Social Media and Engagement Specialist and is currently working on a short story collection.
Second place goes to ‘Paper Trail’, a story about dementia that has the inspired choice of second-person narration. This choice allows the reader to be inside the mind of the protagonist with dementia. The inner voice of the main character is fully realised, and the story is a true act of empathy and compassion.
The way Vella presents the violence as a subtle and remarkably mundane occurrence is done with skill and deftness of prose. Mrs. Valletta is stoic but not immune in her reaction to the domestic violence, throwing her hands up in frustration, she pushes past his dark mood, his stubbornness, her fear. The hoarding of moments to yourself, of the secretive Monte-Carlo Biscuits and the swigs of pungent ginger wine are beautifully drawn
This fierce, charming and unsettling story tackles that classic theme in Australian writing: the migrant experience. It’s also about power, and corruption; about women’s solidarity and friendship, and women’s anger.
Vella’s Liele hooks the reader from the first lines: there’s no putting it down until we know what’s going to happen to her.
Launching the 2022 Furphy Anthology at Readings in Melbourne.
Announcing the Furphy Literary Awards for 2022.