Huon Writes: An anthology from the Tasmanian south

Connecting with family, neighbours and the past: fiction and non-fiction on people and place in the Huon Valley.

Madeleine Gasparanatos drives through the Cradoc fog and muses on the complexities of the Huon community; on a sunnier day, Mark Ringer tours some of the quirkier corners of life in the valley. Mary-Lou Stephens shares how researching a novel gave her a profound respect for the Huon’s orcharding families; Simon Crerar celebrates one of the valley’s great historical matriarchs and interviews her descendant, Jason Andrew Smith. Gemma Chilton explores memory, and its loss, in a few quiet moments with a slab of buttery Huon pine. Anne Tonner rediscovers joy in playing in the openhearted welcome of a local concert, while Tansy Rayner Roberts gives the community spirit of the Little Free Libraries an unexpected twist. Andy Baird’s poet seeks understanding in the mountains; Chrystine Klimek’s letter-writer finds a sense of home in the wild water, earth and sky of Lune River; and Jacq Ellem celebrates the undemanding acceptance and joy to be found when cold swimmers take the plunge.

Ten stories, ten perspectives, on living in the Huon.