Introducing Writers' Anthology Vol 1
The magic of nature distilled into our very first book
We're beyond stoked to finally let Unyoked Writers' Anthology Vol 1 out into the world. This little pocket rocket of a book features the work of nearly two dozen of the country's most exciting writers, poets and essayists, selected by our panel of judges in response to our Writer's Residency call-out earlier this year. Do you remember the beginning of 2021? Frankly, we don't either.
We launched our Writer's Residency with a double mission: first, to inspire creatives to use nature as a starting point for inspiration and second, to offer a select few Residents the chance to use the space and silence to focus on a larger body of work. We knew from our own experiences (and the science: multiple studies show spent time in nature increases creativity levels by up to 50%) that getting out there transformed the way we thought and approached big ideas and we were keen to share that gift with our community.
"The writing I’ve being doing in the cabins is different to any other I’ve done this year. The words feel more spacious on the page." - Annie Te Whiu, Writer's Resident
Our first Writers' Anthology takes in a diverse range of voices from a teenage poet discovered through Sydney Story Factory through to published novelists and former newspaper journalists. We received an unbelievable amount of responses to our first callout; over 300 entries from across Australia and New Zealand. Of the finalists represented here, our judges chose four Residents, who have already started spending time at wilderness locations.
They include Anne-Marie Te Whiu, cultural producer, editor, weaver and proud descendant of the Te Rarawa tribe in Northland, Aotearoa, Maya Hodge, proud Lardil & Yangkaal woman, emerging artist and published poet, Ruby Gill, musician, writer and poet, and Robert Juan Kennard, Filipino-Australian queer writer.
All work was blind judged by an industry panel that includes The Guardian's Alyx Gorman, celebrated poet Jazz Money, features editor Zac Bayly and literary agent Georgia Frances King. Blind judging means that there were no names or identifying features of any of the work, ensuring they were chosen purely on merit. The Anthology was edited by Liz Schaffer of Lodestar's Anthology, one of our favourite wanderlust magazines.
The purpose of the Unyoked Writers' Anthology was always to have it live out in the world, where it can plant future seeds for time spent in the wilderness. You'll soon find it nestled into the shelves of each of our locations, as well as at selected stores and cafes in Sydney where you're liable to daydream about not sitting at your desk in the concrete jungle.
You can also purchase a copy for yourself below. That yellow looks damn good on a bookshelf if we do say so ourselves, and it's chock-full of some of the best nature writing this side of the pandemic. Great for the beach, great for summer camp reading and compact enough to fit in a backpack?
Epic.