Phillip’s short story, ‘The Bear’, is based upon his experiences teaching a creative writing class at an Aboriginal community college in Adelaide, where he encouraged his students to write stories.

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“Even just three sentences – a beginning, a middle and an end – to get the students comfortable standing up to read their work to the class,” Phillip told NOTA.

Despite some disparaging remarks from other staff members, Phillip soon had several non-writers producing up to two pages of work.

“‘The Bear’ was a nickname of one student, and, though the short story is based in real experiences, there are plenty of fictional elements in the late 1980s setting,” Phillip explained.

“This story encapsulates how western Anglo-Saxon culture and education systems suppress and deny the fringes of culture and expression, especially Indigenous aspects.”

The story was first drafted in January 2022, when memories came flooding back to Phillip three decades on, and he decided to commit the scenario to words.

Phillip’s method includes writing initial drafts in longhand, edits, then transcription to computer, before letting a story ‘compost’ then ‘dry out’.

A story is generally revised usually three times before Phillip is happy to submit it to a prize like the Furphy.

Listening to music helps the creative juices flow for Phillip, usually from great storytellers like Van Morrison or Willy Nelson.

“I prefer to write rather than do domestic work, it is so much easier to just come to the desk,” he said.

Phillip will also soon submit to the University of Nebraska in the United States, keeping up his strong stream of submissions both overseas and domestic.

By Thomas O’KEEFE