Margaret Scott Tasmanian Young Writer's Fellowship
The Margaret Scott Tasmanian Young Writer’s Fellowship celebrates the strength and breadth of young Tasmanian writing.
It is named in honour of well-known Tasmanian writer, Margaret Scott (1934–2005).
This fellowship is awarded to a young Tasmanian young writer (aged 30 years and under) deemed by the judges to have demonstrated the most literary merit.
Winner
Lars Rogers
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Judges’ comments
The judges for the 2024 Margaret Scott Tasmanian Young Writer’s Fellowship read 30 entries from Tasmanian authors under 30. The works submitted were varied and diverse. Forms ranged from poetry and song to journalism, memoir and fiction, and included many hybrid works. While contemporary realism – particularly fiction and nonfiction based on the experiences of young Tasmanians – was the most common genre, submitted works also included historical fiction, speculative fiction and reportage. Pieces frequently explored issues and challenges faced by young Tasmanians, including climate change, trauma, homelessness, precarious employment and the island’s contested history. Judges were impressed with the range, ambition and scope of the entries, but did note for future entrants the importance of re-reading and polishing their entries before submission.
The shortlist represents a maturity of voice and higher level of polish, as well as ambition in chosen subject matter. These writers were more willing to take chances with voice, form and content, to find new ways to talk about common ideas or to explore ideas outside the mainstream. Judges noted that the shortlisted entries demonstrate an awareness of broader literary culture and of contemporary writing, suggesting that these are writers who read widely and who reflect on their own process as it fits into the literary landscape.
Shortlist
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Judges’ comments
The 2025 entries for the Margaret Scott Tasmanian Young Writer’s Fellowship were varied and diverse. The judges were impressed with the range of forms, genres and subjects reflected in the writing, and with the ambition and scope of the entries. The shortlist represents a maturity of voice and higher level of polish. It illustrates the range of important topics that are relevant to young people in an increasingly complex world. The judges noted that the shortlisted entries demonstrate an awareness of broader literary culture and of contemporary writing.
Abby Wallace
Abby Wallace is an emerging fiction writer, mother and musician from Lutruwita/Tasmania. Her fiction work, characterised by its subtle, emotional viscerality, is primarily concerned with intimacy and the human condition. She is deeply inspired by the Tasmanian landscape, the concept of divinity and the mechanics of grief. Abby is currently undertaking an English degree at the University of Tasmania and is a two-time recipient of the University’s Helen Hodgman Prize of Creative Writing. In 2025, Abby undertook an editorial internship at Island Magazine for Issue 172, working alongside fiction editor Kate Kruimink and managing editor Jane Rawson. After many years away from her craft, Abby has spent the past two years living, mothering, learning and writing (feverishly) on Palawa land in Nipaluna/Hobart.
Lars Rogers
Lars lives and grew up in Yolla, where he works in the extractive industries along the West Coast. His writing tries to explore what it means to get things wrong. He is grateful to have the opportunity to share his stories and communicate thoughts that he hopes are interesting. Lars posts weekly on his Substack, Stray Dogs of Stoney Steps.
Roly Dalton
Roly Dalton is currently a student living and studying in Hobart, Tasmania. Ever since he was young, he has always had a love for all things literary, whether it be reading a multitude of books or writing short stories. He especially enjoys fantasy, and in his own work often explores themes such as human connection through that lens.
Zoe Hyland
Zoe Hyland is an up-and-coming author of essays, memoirs and true stories. Having been shortlisted for publication in X-Ray Literary Magazine and The Sun Magazine, along with being awarded the highest TCE marks for her English Studio 3 folio of fiction and non-fiction works, Zoe’s passion for writing shines within her academic and personal pursuits. Now studying as an aspiring geologist and software developer at The University of Sydney, Zoe considers herself to be a ‘jack of all trades and master of some’. She has survived snake bites on school camps, fleeing sketchy farms in the Hungarian countryside on rickety post-Soviet trains, and attempting to bathe her nine-kilogram Maine Coon cat, Maxi. Zoe does her best writing hunched over her 1930s cedar desk in the early hours of the morning, on the steps of the Vasvári Pál Street Synagogue, or in the library instead of studying for her looming exams. She loves to weave intricate tales of souls long lost and yet to be imagined, comedic characters worthy of Chaplin-esque reverence, and charming vignettes providing warmth on the dreariest of rainy days… aided by the numerous ghosts who no doubt haunt her extensive collection of uranium glass and radium dial clocks.