Judges’ comments
GOLD: Life and How to Leave It Swerve
The writer instantly brings the reader into the story using sharp sentences. The article is both quiet and resonant, stark and soft – brilliantly told. The author has tackled a sensitive and controversial subject in an objective and non-judgmental manner, and despite the subject matter, the story never becomes sentimental nor maudlin. It’s filled with the tiny details that bring the readers right into the hospital room. Excellent work.
SILVER: A Hard Walk New Trail
The article holds weight and importance. The writer demonstrated, simply in his style and prose, what is most crucial in these discussions: to listen. He wasn’t forcing conclusions on the reader or telling them what to think, but allowing his sources to speak. The research phase is the most important in feature writing, and it’s obvious the writer put in the leg work here. It’s a sensitive task for any settler to write about Indigenous issues and the writer let the sources do the talking.
