Geraldton’s Serena Moss wins national Furphy Literary Award for moving short story on grief and legacy

A young Geraldton writer’s short story about grief, family and coming to terms with loss has won a significant Australian literature award. After narrowly missing out on the Fremantle Press Fogarty Literary Award in June, Waggrakine resident Serena Moss claimed the coveted 2025 Furphy Literary Award with her short story The Eulogy Business. Among 788 entries from around the country — the second highest amount recorded in the award’s six-year history — Moss’ story stood out to the judges for it’s originality, emotional depth and fresh narrative voice. Shortlisted writers, judges and special guests gathered at Shepperton Art Museum in Victoria on Saturday, July 26, where Moss was named national winner and awarded $15,000 along with publication in The Furphy Anthology 2025, due for release in November. A startling new talent in the world of literary competitions, Moss’ winning story follows a narrator who writes eulogies for strangers — advertising their services on Gumtree under “creative services” — offering words to those grieving when they have none left. Furphy Literary Award judge Anson Cameron described the story as “a voice both profound and hilarious . . . a true voice that makes you listen wholeheartedly and joyously.” “The judges heard that voice while reading this story.” Moss said the inspiration came during a difficult period in her personal life. “I was going through something I didn’t have words for. Someone I love was fading through chronic illness — slowly, quietly — and I couldn’t help. I couldn’t fix it. I didn’t have words for it,” she said. “So I wrote someone who could . . . a character whose job is to give people language when they have none left.” She explained that parts of the story, especially its emotional ending, were drawn directly from a eulogy she once wrote for her brother, during a time she feared she may lose him. The win has brought with it both recognition and reassurance. “This award means permission. And that I was right to keep at it,” she said. “I’ve written my whole life, but until this year I’ve never shared my writing with anyone else. Like someone saw the heart of what I was trying to do and said, yes, that counts.” Asked what she planned to do with the prize money, Moss said it would go towards life’s essentials — car, dentist, therapy and supporting other regional and emerging writers in small but meaningful ways. “Sometimes all it takes is someone saying you matter, your story matters, keep going,” she said. Moss is currently deep in edits on her debut novel Wreckage, a verse-style young adult novel about grief, guilt, and finding a way through when everything feels lost. “It’s messy. It’s real. It’s full of quiet love and brutal consequence,” she said. “And it’s rooted in that same belief — that stories give us a way through.” Moss who writes from Geraldton in cafes, sheds and kitchens, hopes her win sends a clear message to other regional writers. “You don’t need to live in a capital city to tell stories that matter,” she said. “If you’re a regional writer with a story you can’t stop thinking about, write it. Even if it starts with a Hills Hoist and a shotgun. Especially then.”