POETRY Winner Fig Russon Jorgenson - Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers 2023

Fig Russon Jorgenson's poem, girlfish, has been awarded The 2023 Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers in the category of Poetry. Fig was presented with the award online at the National Young Writers Festival at a special event, and won a $500 cash prize, an exclusive book pack from Hachette Australia and acknowledgement of their winning entry in Express Media’s flagship publication Voiceworks.Read Fig's winning piece below. 

girlfish

i am a girlfish

smooth, seal-bodied

submerged with my nose

above the waterline

sun baked back

supine to burn

and

colour-fade

conch-shaped mouth

clutch me to your ear

to hear a muttering

about a cranium sea

taste my salt

temper my bareness

hold me under

try to drown me and i will show you

you will see when i wash up

as loud and as pink cheeked

as the day you pulled me

from the water

search for me—

look behind you

in seagull calls and

between sandy legs

kiss me

for then my gills will close

my senses will sharpen

and i will become a girl