Welcome to the Central Coast Writes Anthology 2022, a collection of personal stories written and illustrated by local residents.

These stories share a deep connection to place and they tell us more about who we are on the Central Coast. The writers engaged their emotions and all of their senses to create vivid, moving accounts from the heart of our community.

Here you’ll find true stories told with honesty and creative flair about love, loss, heroism, challenges, and those tender moments that last a lifetime.

Seeing the care and attention that the talented illustrators have brought to the stories is heart-warming and demonstrates the power of creative collaboration.

To all those who dared to create, remember and record: It has been an honour to guide you in this experience and a joy to edit your words. Let’s do it all again next year!

- Adrienne Ferreira, Director of Central Coast Writes.

Lynne Matson, Illustrated by Therese Gabriel Wilkins 8/27/22 Lynne Matson, Illustrated by Therese Gabriel Wilkins 8/27/22

The Shack

It was furnished with everyone’s cast-offs and oddments. No two plates matched, no two chairs were the same, the ornaments were eclectic, and that’s being kind.

Mei-Ling Venning, Illustrated by Georgia Beavan-Barnes 8/3/22 Mei-Ling Venning, Illustrated by Georgia Beavan-Barnes 8/3/22

The Wrong Order

After weeks of endless rain, the storm clouds relented. Enforced indoor-living, a reflection of our months of isolation, left me eager to be once more in the great outdoors.

Katiuska Jukich, Illustrated by Abbey Humphris 8/3/22 Katiuska Jukich, Illustrated by Abbey Humphris 8/3/22

Unsolicited Advice

When I turned forty, I thought that I had gained some peculiar wisdom, especially through so many diverse experiences I’d acquired while adapting to a new culture in Australia.

Noel Peters, Illustrated by Austin Wright-Barnes 6/24/22 Noel Peters, Illustrated by Austin Wright-Barnes 6/24/22

The Favourite Part Of My Day

Ah, sunset, dusk, twilight, with its myriad colours — blazing reddish orange, morphing into hues of pink and purple and turquoise…

Nicole Sutherland 6/10/22 Nicole Sutherland 6/10/22

Rising from the Ashes

I turned around to see my entire street filled with the firetruck’s blue and red lights, bouncing off every house in the still darkness of morning…

Bethany Compton, Illustrated by Sally Davis 6/10/22 Bethany Compton, Illustrated by Sally Davis 6/10/22

A Calming of the Storms — Thank God!

The sun began to rise, striking the ocean; the view was stunning. As we walked along the quiet beach, we both dipped our feet in the water…

Therese Gabriel Wilkins, Illustrated by Judith Harris 6/10/22 Therese Gabriel Wilkins, Illustrated by Judith Harris 6/10/22

A Special Place

There’s a place close to home where sheoaks and melaleucas dance with the wind, the smell of pine hangs in the air after autumn rain…

Ally Chuang, Illustrated by Frankie Kaye 6/10/22 Ally Chuang, Illustrated by Frankie Kaye 6/10/22

Dressing Up

Boys wear denim creased with sweat and dirt. Starched, crisp shirts when they grow into men with responsibilities. But what of velvet and satin?