15 young writers recognised in City of Armadale 2019 Young Writers' Awards

Fifteen young school aged writers were awarded for writing excellence at the recent Armadale Young Writers’ Awards presentation ceremony, held Friday 6 September at the City of Armadale Administration Building.

The local writers, ranging in age from school years 3 to 12, were recognised for their creative expression and writing ability across a variety of prose entries and awarded cash and voucher prizes.

City of Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones OAM, JP who presented the awards, said the judges and all involved were impressed with the quality of writing and depth of imagination in this year’s entries.

“The children’s writing was really of an excellent quality this year and all the entrants should be very proud of their work.

“It is just a pleasure to see imaginative young minds at work, and the City is proud to have the opportunity to support the development of our up and coming writers,” said Mayor Zelones.

Winners of the Armadale Young Writers’ Awards 2019

Years 3 and 4 - First prize awarded to Ewan McLean for ‘The Formation of Trees’, 2nd prize to Trinity Mei Jing Loo for ‘Akiria Banks’ and 3rd prize to Ava Brewer for ‘Alpaca vs Llama’.

Years 5 and 6 - First prize awarded to Yizhen Pu ‘The Dishes’, 2nd prize to Mia Hay-Hendry for ‘Santa’s Secret Sister’ and 3rd prize to Marco Bongers for ‘A Sneeky (sic) Adventure - A Friend for Sneeky’.

Years 7 and 8 - First prize to Aydee Bull for ‘Fruit Bowl’, 2nd prize to Leyla Baker for ‘Living in a Fantasy’ and 3rd prize to Pacey van Burgel ‘Through a Chicken’s Eyes’.

Years 9 and 10 - First prize awarded to Sarah Ann Benny for ‘Same Old Love’, 2nd prize to Lilly-Anne Burns for ‘Bird Song’ and 3rd to Jemai Macnamara for ‘The Wild Rebellion’.        

Years 11 & 12 - First prize to Ivan Gonzales for ‘The Unforeseen’, 2nd prize to Sophie McDowall for ‘Tentative Observations’ and 3rd prize to Muhammad Malik for ‘Gaze’.      

The Best Overall Winner was awarded to Aydee Bull for ‘Fruit Bowl’.

Prizes included cash awards of $200, $150 and $100 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each age category, plus each of the winners received a trophy and certificate and the Best Overall Winner received a book voucher to the value of $50.

The overall winner Aydee Bull was also recognised by having her name engraved on the perpetual Armadale Young Writers’ Awards trophy.

The public is invited to read the winning stories in the 2019 anthology which will be available Monday 9 September for viewing on the library website.

The 2019 awards were open for entry for four weeks over June attracting 169 entries.

Entry forms for the 2020 competition will be available in May 2020.