Mr Mobbs won a silver medal in the International 2016 Independent Publishers Book Awards with his novel, The Expressionist. 

The internationally recognised competition, based in the United States, is celebrating its 20th year. 

The Expressionist won a silver medal in the Best Regional Fiction in the Australian / New Zealand category.

Mr Mobbs said the community had supported his work. 

“It’s really quite humbling to win this award considering how many people have helped along the way,” he said.

“It brings a little bit of kudos, not just to us, but to them as well,” he said.

Mr Mobbs said The Expressionist was his first novel. 

He set out to write a novel as part of his Master’s degree and it was published last year.

“I hope people will look at this and see that it is okay to do something you want to do passionately,” Mr Mobbs said.

“It’s about sharing who we are, helping and guiding each other along the way.

“It’s nice to take something you’ve created, not knowing the outcome, and receive validation for it.”

His original concept for The Expressionist was to write something localised, based upon the idea of growth, creating a regional piece of work.

“I’m a big believer that we can do great things locally. We don’t have to be absorbed by the cities,” Mr Mobbs said just prior to the launch of his book last year.

“Places like Bathurst have so much to give – the characters and the sense of time and space are different to anywhere else in the world.”

The book focuses on the development of a young Australian boy, living in rural NSW, and his coming of age into a realm of artistic and creative tendencies.

Mr Mobbs obtained an Education degree with Honours from Charles Sturt University. 

Recently, he completed a Bachelor Degree in Creative Arts and a Masters of Philosophy in the area of Creative Writing at The University of Newcastle. 

He is in the early stages of undertaking a PhD in creative writing and creates on a daily basis.