Indigenous Writers’ Prize 2025 Shortlisted
Judges’ Comments
When the World Was Soft brings Yindjibarndi creation stories to the page in a way that honours both tradition and innovation. These are stories from a strong Law area in the Pilbara, where the right way to tell, share and hold stories has been carefully considered. Told through the collective voice of the Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation, the language moves between poetic cadence and sharp clarity, holding on to the rhythms of oral storytelling while making space for readers unfamiliar with its forms.
The graphic novel format works as an extension of how these stories have always been told — layered, dynamic and deeply relational. Conversations shift across time, moving between human and more-than human voices, reinforcing that creation stories are not distant myths but part of the present. Rather than translating these stories into a Western literary mould, the book shapes itself around the cultural, linguistic and philosophical frameworks from which they emerge.
