Published in Overland Issue 232 Spring 2018 · Uncategorized Judge’s notes | PEN Mildura Indigenous Writers Award Natalie Harkin The past is always with us and carried over into the future, and this was evident in all submissions to the Mildura Indigenous Writers Award. The writing was diverse, engaging and overall very moving. History as ‘past-present-future’ was a strong theme. The task of judging the award was both an honour and a challenge given the diverse entries, which were all excellent. Each piece told a great story with poignant insight to the writers’ lives and histories through humour, warmth, and a deep love of family and place. Maya Hodge’s poem ‘Her Eyes’, the 2017 co-winner, portrays moving and direct insights to unique stories of resilience and cultural/family pride against history’s odds. Congratulations to Mildura’s community of Aboriginal writers and storytellers! May you continue to support each other create great work, and to share your important stories from your beautiful part of the world. Supported by PEN Melbourne, the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and the Mildura Writers Festival Image: Pier (Mildura) / flickr Read the rest of Overland 232 If you enjoyed this piece, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four outstanding issues for a year Natalie Harkin Natalie Harkin is a Narungga woman, a member of the Chester family in South Australia. She is a lecturer and academic advisor at the Office of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement, Flinders University, and her PhD research is an archival-poetic journey through the state’s Aboriginal family archives. Her first collection of poetry, Dirty Words, was published by Cordite Books in 2015. More by Natalie Harkin › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 10 April 202610 April 2026 · open letter Open letter: RMIT staff and students oppose disciplinary action against Gemma Seymour over video opposing links to weapons ties RMIT University Staff and Students Freedom of speech and expression is absolutely vital in academic institutions. Students who engage in activism should not be punished for doing so, and discipline procedures are not there to be abused as a tool of intimidation. We call for the disciplinary process against Gemma to cease immediately. 9 April 202610 April 2026 · CoPower Against the will to engineer: Richard King’s Brave New Wild Ben Brooker The response demanded of us in the twenty-first century must operate at the level of metaphysics as well as the material, addressing our underlying assumptions about the instrumentalisation of nature and what constitutes a meaningful life in the face of technology’s relentless advance. To neglect that deeper terrain is to concede, in advance, the very ground on which our resistance to the machine must stand.
