The Stringybark Open Award 2026
has closed.
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THE JUDGES
Thanks to ...
David Vernon is a full time writer and editor. While he is known for his non-fiction books about birth: Men at Birth, Having a Great Birth in Australia, Birth Stories and With Women, he has turned his hand to writing science articles for newspapers and magazines as well as scribbling the odd short story or two, many which have been published. He established the Stringybark Short Stories Awards in 2010 to promote short story writing. He was the Chair of the ACT Writers Centre for six years. He shares his land with kangaroos, echidnas, chickens and two Border Collies. He recently completed an Australian history book, A Good Yarn — seven mysteries that captivated Australia, thanks to attending Varuna. David’s website is: www.davidvernon.net however owing to the time he spends on publishing it is desperately in need of updating.
Meredyth Cilento has been a voracious and eclectic reader since she was a youngster.
She has had poetry, short stories, travel and other articles published in various newspapers and magazines. For a short time in her late twenties, she wrote documentary scripts for the BBC television program Collector’s World, the precursor of Antique Roadshow. That was a great experience where she learnt discipline and how to persevere and polish her writing. She has visited 36 different countries, sometimes alone where she couldn’t speak the language, and believes travel is the greatest educator.
Meredyth has tried most art forms, despite her formal training in nursing. She concentrated on wood sculpture for ten years and was commissioned to create perpetual trophies for the Wirra Wirra Short Story Competition and Onkaparinga Council and Willunga Quarry Market sponsored short story and poetry competitions some years ago. These days her main interests are philosophy and chess, and the never ending pleasure of finding what makes people tick.
Antoinette Merrillees is a long-serving Australian diplomat. Her most recent
appointment was as Australia’s Consul-General in Turkey. Despite this wonderful
job, she has aspirations to eventually throw it all in (give diplomacy a few more
years) and become a full-time writer, teacher, and musician. Life might get in the
way of this ideal but, in the meantime, she has written several children’s picture
books, inspired by the difficulties faced by her children in moving countries. She
loves spending time buying and borrowing books and is currently experimenting with
reading books on an iPad (not quite the same experience!). Her tastes in literature
are eclectic, with bodice rippers being just as enticing as a good discussion of for-
eign policy. Antoinette has previously judged the Stringybark Flash and Microfiction
Award 2012, Stringybark Erotic Fiction Award 2013, Malicious Mysteries Award 2014,
Stringybark Travellers’ Tales Award 2015, Dog Eat Dog Award 2017, Tales with a Twist
Award 2020, Stringybark Open 2022, Stringybark Open 2024 and Stringybark Open 2025.
Julia Robertson a lawyer by training, spent ten years working for the Institute of Criminology before resigning to establish her own tourism business down the South Coast. A regular international traveller and voracious reader, Julia suffers from a vast lack of bookshelf space. She has previously judged the Twisted Stringybark Short Story Award 2012, Twisted Stringybark Short Story Award 2014, Stringybark Travellers Tales Award 2015, Seven Deadly Sins Award 2017, Times Past Award 2020 and Tales with a Twist 2020.
