Short Story competition a hit with young writers
Date published: 1 November 2017
Budding authors of all ages put their writing skills to the test for Townsville City Council’s Short Story Competition.
Held as part of Savannah: Festival of Stories event, the competition drew 60 entries over three categories; adult, young adult 13-17 years and children 8-12 years.
The theme of the competition was Food, Family and Fun and could be about one, two or all three of the themes.
Adult winner was Wendy Levy with her story Mick and Maisie. Runner up was Jennifer Barret with her story Uncle Teddy.
Young Adult winner was Lara Skerratt with her story Fait Accompli. Runner up was Erin Chin with Family Flame.
Children’s winner was Houn Evans and his story Tree of Life. Runner up was Layla Horsington with Hunter and Prey.
Winners receive mini iPads and with runners up receiving a $100 Mary Who Bookshop voucher. Both winners and runners up also receive a 12-month membership to the Queensland Writers Centre.
Community and Cultural Development Committee chair Cr Colleen Doyle said the children’s category was very popular receiving the most amounts of entries.
“This year we added a children’s category which we haven’t had in previous years and it was a big hit,” Cr Doyle said.
“We offered children’s writing workshops at the Savannah festival which were facilitated by last year’s winner of the adult category, Ian McIntosh.
“The Short Story competition gave young authors an opportunity to put into practice their new writing skills and inspired the large number of entries.”
The judging panel this year consisted of:
- Adult and Young Adult category – Mary Who Bookstore and local authors Ariella Van Luyn and Glen Chilton
- Children category – local children’s authors Nathalie Fernbach and Steve Coleman
The winning stories can be read online.
