BIPADI Award Event Evening
How do you summarise something that took months of planning and culminated into an evening of sharing, celebrating and thankfulness? I deliberated for a while and there are some key points that I want to start with.
The BIPADI Awards Evening was a group effort. I could not have done it without the staunch support of many individuals, people and businesses that stepped in to help in a variety of ways. There were people that helped with planning, shared their guidance and expertise with me on how to succeed at these events.
This is a year of many firsts for Bushland Castle Productions:
We attended our first in person event - Supanova in May
We released our first series of 14 books themed Otherworldly Emergence in August (That was 14 separate online launches!).
We ran our fist writing competitions as part of the Bushland Pages Author Support Platform called Bushland Scrolls. - (Opened in April and closed in June)
We had our first live signing event at Evolve - September
We Hosted the Inaugural BIPADI Awards - October
When I first started planning the writing competition, I started thinking about the presentation evening. As a small publisher, the awards evening would be just for that one thing. I wondered if there were other small publishers out there that may also have individual awards that they were thinking about presenting, too. Maybe we could team up? Then the Awards evening could be quite the shindig. A night of celebrating the efforts of all the different people within the bookish industry. Booksmiths, you might say. That was when the seeds of Booksmiths In Partnership Australia Distinction Initiative was born. Code name BIPADI.
This year was designed to be a smaller event. We would hold it online, announce the Bushland Scrolls winners, get a few speakers in and honour someone with the title of BIPADI champion for the year. It sounds easy when you write it down in a few sentences. I said to my collaborative partners that we can host it this year so that they can be in the running for the top spot because, as of next year, when we add their awards to the evening, they would be a part of the management team and therefore ineligible. Which worked out well as they were nominated and I was chuffed to see their names on the list.
The Trophies were all purchased from AllStar Trophies in Osbourne Park
The wands were created in Perth by Potions and Wands
The stands and 3d printed accessories were printed by Joel Evans
The Certificates were printed at the Local Yilgarn CRC (Community Resources Centre)
The Zoom hosting was provided by Bushland Castle Productions (BCP).
A separate email and webpage was created to establish the BIPADI as separate from BCP due to the pending partnership arrangements for 2027.
Guest Speakers
Ina Edwardson
Emerging Author - Speaker - Transformational Coach
Ina spoke passionately about how her heritage has impacted the way that she chooses to live her life and the opportunities that she has experienced. It was beautiful speech.
Ina Edwardson is a proud Māori woman with ancestral roots in Ōpōtiki, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
Her upbringing and family heritage have shaped her values of respect, resilience, gratitude and service to others.
With extensive experience in local government and community development, Ina now lives and works in the heart of Western Australia’s northern Goldfields.
Her appreciation of heritage extends beyond her own whakapapa to the rich history of Australia’s outback, particularly the Aboriginal peoples, mining
families and communities whose stories deserve to be remembered and
shared.
Ina believes that heritage is not simply about where we come from, but how
the values and stories of those before us influence the way we live today.
Alyssa Curtayne
Storyteller - Podcaster - Author
Alyssa Shared a tale of beginning again and living a humble life. She drew everyone in with her storytelling and it was a pleasure to watch.
Alyssa Curtayne is the carrier of many things: A mama, a teacher, a storyteller, a writer, a cheerleader and team builder. Alyssa hosts The Heart of Storytelling and Lost and Forgotten Fairy Tales podcasts, has written three books for children, is the president of the Australian Fairytale Society, co-creator of the Storyteller's Gathering and has a Graduate Diploma in Creative Writing to prove to herself that she can actually write. She recently returned from an International Storytelling Conference in India where she ran a workshop on including elements in stories. There are lots of other things she does, but was asked only for a short bio, ta-dah!
Winner announcements:
Heritage Scroll
The Heritage Scrolls Competition was created by Bushland Castle Productions and competitors were required to write a short narrative non-fiction story between 100-1500 words that encompassed how Heritage had shaped the person they are today.
The Council of Quills for the Heritage Scrolls were:
Ian Hooper
Gaye McBride
David Blacker
3rd: Isabella Sunday - When will they Catch you.
Received a $200 cash prize, a Certificate and a Medallion
12 Months free access to Bushland Pages Events
2nd: Rachel Stevenson - Wayfarer
Received a $300 cash Prize, a certificate and a Trophy
12 Months free access to Bushland Pages Events
1st: Angela Edwards - Thirty Seven Days
Received a $500 cash Prize, a Certificate and a Trophy
12 Months free access to Bushland Pages Events
Catalyst Scroll
The Catalyst Scroll Competition was created by Bushland Castle Productions and entreated competitors to create a speculative fiction short story between 1000-1500 words that focused on a moment of change.
The Council of Quills for the Catalyst Scrolls were
Selina Shapland
Brooke Vandenberg
David Loermans
3rd: A Change in Pressure - Virginia Blackney
Received a $200 cash prize, a Certificate and a Medallion
12 Months free access to Bushland Pages Events
2nd: To Run the Monster - Ron Gordon
Received a $300 cash Prize, a certificate and a Trophy
12 Months free access to Bushland Pages Events
1st: Kirsten West - One Million Candles
Received a $500 cash Prize, a Certificate and a Trophy
12 Months free access to Bushland Pages Events
BIPADI - Everyone on the shortlist was a winner and got a small wand and certificate so they can keep the magic happening. Continue sharing their skills and experiences and opening their hearts to a assist others in thriving within this bookish space. The wands themselves are all unique, as are their contributions to the bookish space.
 Ian Hooper |  Shannon Riley |  Lauren Elise Daniels |
 Selina Shapland |  Heather Salter-Purves |  Peta Flanigan |
 Laure Keenan |  Carolyn Martinez |  Ashleigh Meikle |
Sandy Vaile will champion the Perpetual trophy for 2026-2027 and will hand it over to the next champion on the 30th of October 2027.
As Sandy was unable to attend the Festivities, I was honoured to read out her acceptance speech and have added it below for your reference.
Acceptance Speech
by Sandy Vaile www.fearlessprose.com
I am so incredibly honoured to be recognised by the fiction community for the volunteering I have done over the past sixteen years. What started out as a personal passion to write stories that make readers laugh and cry, quickly turned into a calling to empower other authors to write stories they're proud to publish.
I truly believe that by lifting one another up, we make the whole fiction industry a better place to exist in.
So much of what creatives do happens quietly as home, so there's no real need to see other faces and have genuine conversations with people who are equally obsessed about imaginary characters, fantastical worlds and spend hours choosing exactly the right word.
Throughout my creative journey I've met hundreds of wonderful people who have generously shared their time, knowledge and encouragement, and it had an enormous impact on my self-belief and determination to keep going.
So, that's what I have endeavoured to give back to the community: a place where authors can feel safe asking questions, celebrate everyone's successes (no matter how small), to inspire one another to keep going after setbacks, and to continually improve their writing craft.
It all began when I started a face-to-face novel critiquing group in Adelaide, and I still remember being terrified that no-one would turn up to have anything to say. How wrong was I! Put a few authors in a room together and they never run out of things to say. :) This group gave novelists a place to bounce ideas around and improve their skills in a nurturing environment. It has gone from strength-to-strength and produced dozens of published authors.
Every time I beta read a book, judge a competition, share my knowledge during Q&A sessions or host a free event, I get as much as I give, because I'm constantly inspired by other creatives.
So this award may have my name on it, but it really belongs to the many people who have inspired, encouraged and collaborated with me along the way, as well as every other bookish creative who volunteers their time and knowledge to help others.
I accept this award with a full heart and offer my commitment to keep on supporting authors to have confidence in their creative choices and to strive for quality storytelling.
Thank you Dianna and BCP Creative for dreaming up the BIPADI Awards and shining a light on all of this love.
SAVE THE DATES
The Bushland Scrolls Competition will open for Submissions on the 2nd of April 2027 and close on the 17th of June 2027 - see competition page for more information.
The next BIPADI Awards Night will be held on the 30th of October 2027
Keep your ear to the ground for when the Nominations for the next BIPADI are announced and other linked awards by subscribing to the This Mindful World Email Newsletter.
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