Some stories are pieced together over years, reworked dozens of times. Others burst forth in a heady rush, appearing fully formed on the page. For the winner of this year’s Emerging Writers’ Competition, it was a bit of both.
“This piece had been floating around in the corners of my mind for a while – I actually wrote the first draft when I was in Year 11, about 20 years ago,” says Tessa Piper. “Earlier this year, I saw an advertisement for the SBS competition with the theme of ‘emergence’, and that same day I had a conversation with someone who made a reference to somebody climbing out of a window. Something just clicked and I suddenly knew how to convey the story, which until then had been a series of images and detailed diary entries. I went home and wrote it, almost in one sitting.”
Something clicked and I suddenly knew how to convey the story. I went home and wrote it, almost in one sitting
The 37-year-old Melbourne public servant who works in the area of social policy, regulation and legislation was today announced as the winner of the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition. Her story, , is an unsettling yet beautifully rendered story of childhood trauma. Despite depictions of drug and alcohol abuse and sexual violence, it’s a tale spun with gossamer silk thread, as ethereal and uplifting as it is disturbing.
“It was really important to me that the story communicated strength and hope, that even those who are holding the heaviest of secrets can go on to do wonderful things and live lives with purpose and agency,” Piper says. “The theme of emergence allowed me to do that.”
The “usual” in the title of the story reflects the ordinariness of the spring day – another “piss-up” at her home, riding her bike, sipping Fanta with a neighbourhood friend – and comments on the fact that women and children so often experience violence in their daily lives.
“There are a lot of women who have experienced this story, perhaps not in this exact way, but something like it,” Piper says. “It’s an opportunity for all of us to think about how to put a stop to it.”
The competition judges, Alice Pung and Christos Tsiolkas, praised the story and the artistic risks taken with voice, pacing and perspective. “This is a story full of urgent vitality, artistically rendered in a truly affecting way that’s without artifice,” they said. “(It’s) like a punch to the face and guts with a stolen, diamond-studded glove.”
For Piper, the “mind-blowing” win took her completely by surprise. “I had just arrived at the local swimming pool with my kids when I got the call. I was halfway through putting on sunscreen and just started crying. I must have been a real sight.”
The shock was all the more real because it was her first time entering a writing competition – and her first-ever published story – despite having a collection of poems, vignettes and stories she’d penned over the years.
Having people read and connect with my writing is a dream I’d never allowed myself to engage with properly until now
“Up until now I hadn’t allowed myself to think of my writing as more than just files on my computer, something I did for fun and occasionally shared with family and friends. But if I’m honest with myself, having people read and connect with my writing is a dream I’d never allowed myself to engage with properly until now.”
After Piper’s dad died when she was nine, her mum found work as a housekeeper and raised Piper and her brother as a solo parent. “Things weren’t easy. We were living week to week,” she reveals. She is the first person in her family to attend university, and is now part way through her fourth degree (a juris doctor). She has held several senior executive roles in public and social policy.
She salutes the teachers she had from primary school through to university who supported her and encouraged her writing, even though it took her 20 years to put something out into the world.
“I had absolutely no expectations of winning,” she says. “Entering the competition felt akin to dropping a note into an anonymous suggestion box: you have some hope someone might read it, but really you just do it to get something off your chest. You certainly never think anyone’s going to call you about it!”
She intends to celebrate winning the $5000 first prize by enjoying a glass of fancy champagne with her mum, who she describes as one of her biggest supporters, and then enrolling in some short story and other writing courses.
Despite the way her mum is depicted in the story, they share a close and loving relationship. “My mum was in a tough situation with me, and we got out together. We have really thrived, and I love her so much.”
If you need support, you can contact 1800 Respect on 1800 737 732 or visit or contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit .
Listen to winner Tessa Piper and runner up Monikka Eliah on the final SBS Voices podcast episode of , in the , , , , or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Read the winning entries
SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition 2022 Winner: Tessa Piper
Listen to the podcast
Writing from pain: the whys and the hows
