Best Australian Yarn 2024: Perth writer David Harris eyes second win in world’s richest short story prize

Perth writer David Harris has made literary history as the only author to reach the longlist of The Best Australian Yarn for three consecutive years, putting him in contention for the competition’s $50,000 main prize. Harris, who claimed victory in the 2022 competition, will learn if his evocative short story La Ricetta Di Famiglia has earned him a second win at the awards ceremony on November 22 at the State Library of Western Australia. The story, which explores themes of memory loss and cultural heritage, was inspired by a “pig weekend” Harris spent with an Italian family. “Seeing people that were quintessentially Australian having conversations with people that were quintessentially Italian, with only the family name connecting them — this tradition was super interesting to me,” Harris said. His narrative follows an ageing father struggling to remember his family’s traditional sausage recipe, drawing poignant parallels with Harris’s personal experiences with his grandfather’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease. “I was trying to capture that frustration of losing things that should be second nature,” Harris explained. “The distance that creates between families is gut-wrenching for anyone who experiences it.” The story reflects Australia’s multicultural fabric, examining how immigrants embrace their new homeland while maintaining cultural traditions. “I wanted to find a way to tie it all together and create a story that hopefully resonates with people,” Harris said. The Best Australian Yarn’s broad appeal keeps drawing Harris back to the competition. “There are plenty of smaller competitions around, and they’re always fun to engage with at a community level. But the Yarn is the same thing, times a thousand. Everybody’s there,” he said. Whatever the outcome on November 22, Harris remains grateful for the competition’s impact on his career. “The opportunities that have arisen from being part of the Yarn will probably be a big part of my professional and creative makeup,” he reflected. “It’s very humbling to be part of it again.”