Game as Ned, Tim Pegler

I know what people say. They reckon I'm simple. Call me dumb. Retard. Spastic. Some of them don't even bother doing it behind my back. They don't get a response so they do it to my face. Think I don't understand.

Ned is an autistic, mute teenager obsessed by bushrangers. Erin is a worldly-wise girl brought up the hard way. Ned’s life is grim, until the arrival of Erin, but an act of violent bullying by a young police recruit provokes Ned beyond reason and sets the story alight. Events echo more famous Ned (Kelly), the bushranger, as young Ned hides out from police, while Erin struggles to protect him and keep her criminal father in check. The result is a story that pulls the reader forward as the characters struggle against their fates.

Game as Ned is longlisted for the Golden Inky.