Shine Writers' Prize 2023 winners

Dominic impressed the judges by exploring his comic side in a storyboard of himself describing special moments of his life pre- and post-accident, entitled "This is me, Neon".

Dominic's visual story shows that after he left hospital, his enthusiasm for life has continued. Through a combination of text and pictures, his story tells us about his love of music, shuffle dancing and sport, and he shares some of his recent adventures.

Dominic said "I still love shuffling and music and I love being out and about. That's what makes me happy. I've done some cool things with my carers since my accident, like Defqon and going on holidays."

As a shuffler, Dominic loves sneakers and plans on buying himself a fresh pair of Nike TN shoes with his prize money. He's already been shopping to check out what's new! 

Asha moved to Sydney from a small town south of Auckland, New Zealand, after graduating and getting a job. At 26, she had a stroke following an injury at work. After a long road of recovery, Asha has learned to look after her mental health, love life and herself.

Drawing from personal experiences and feelings, her writing started to take shape. For a long time, she didn't consider her writing to be good. However she challenged her mindset and worked hard to find her own writing style.

The key message Asha wants people to take away is "to live life to the fullest safely, within your means and not harming anyone else and to not give up on what you really want to do."

Asha enjoys music, loves learning new things, going to shows, going out for dinner, and being in nature. She loves being at the beach and doing things out of her comfort zone. She has been indoor skydiving and although it scared her, she would do it again. 

Daniel lives in Sydney with his family. Since his accident, he has drawn on art to help express thoughts, feelings and ideas.

For Daniel, one of the challenges of creating his illustrated story was drawing about what made him feel vulnerable. This meant revisiting what happened when he had his accident, accepting it, and then expressing his emotions on paper.

"You hear people talking about it, but you truly need to experience that again by drawing it. This helps us accept what has happened, learn from each lesson to grow and build your future by caring about who you love. Being stuck in the past will only hold you down. You must undergo a traumatic experience to be optimistic and thankful, to see the beauty in everything as simple as taking a breath."

One of his illustrations emphasises being helpless and broken, seeking help and guidance but it’s just too dark to see. His sister, mum and his art sessions have provided a reason and means to express his thoughts and challenges.

"I'm determined if not for the help of art therapy I wouldn't have the ability to express my thoughts emotionally and physically.

"In every problem there's a moral to learn, look back and consider, improve as a person and remember the value of life."