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Writing NSW are celebrating their branding launch with a competition being held each week over six weeks asking for the best towns in NSW to use as settings for various kinds of stories. A selection of books by local writers will be awarded to the winning entry each week, with favourite submissions to be shared on social media.

The latest winner for the best NSW town to set a children’s fairy tale is Janelle Ballenden for her entry on Bundeena:

Bundeena – on a moon-lit night, mermaids perch on the end of the ferry wharf, flapping their luminescent tails in the inky depths.’

The shortlisted towns included Gostwyk, Frogs Hollow, Cobargo, Yarrawonga, Oberon, Wollongong and Fairy Hill.

Cobargo
Cobargo would make a great town for a fairy tale about gnomes, since it has a resident community of them throughout the town, and yes, they do wander about town from time to time and have adventures at night, as told to us by the lady at the Info Centre. (Elizabeth Klein)

Oberon
Oberon in the Central Tablelands and recently covered in magical snow, references Shakespeare’s King of the Fairies and has forests, beautiful gardens and mysterious caves nearby. (Yvonne Low)

Frog’s Hollow
It’s Frogs Hollow, where, once upon a time, a princess travelling with many fractured fairy tale characters decided to leave the Princes Highway and spend the night after arduous travelling, only to find out that they were so enchanted with the town, they remained and lived happily ever after. (Anthony Cartwright)

Fairy Hill
Fairy Hill, north of Casino, is the vantage point from which fairies are reputed to spy on the human population. (Elizabeth Macintosh)

Yarrawonga
Yarrawonga, the one in NSW. It is a very small settlement set into the Central Tablelands made up of virgin bush and tall ironbark, the perfect setting for naughty nymphs and frivolous fairies to run amok. (Eila Jameson-Avey)

Wollongong
Once upon a time there was a little boy with golden hair (my nephew) who lived far, far beyond the smoke stacks in the idyllically named Paradise Avenue in the idyllically named suburb of Mt Pleasant, just around the corner from the idyllically named Pixie Hollow kindy and not far from the idyllically named Fairy Meadow. (Wendy Lewis)

Gostwyk
Four seasons in one day, a fairytale church and beautiful lush old growth forests- what more do you need? (Lia Mahony)