Our winning young writers make a splash

Our young writers have done it again with an amazing array of stories crowned winners in our Young Writers Competition.

In its eleventh year, the presentation night was run a little differently in 2020 with the proceedings live streamed from Glen Street Theatre into our finalists’ homes.

2020’s theme was ‘splash’ and there were so many creative interpretations in the 565 stories we received. From monsoon season in Africa to a student who gives her dull school uniform a ‘splash’ of colour, all of our finalists certainly put their own spin on the theme.

We spoke to two of our incredible winners, Keira Clewett from Y3-4 category and Phoebe O'Brien in our Y11-12 category after the presentation.

The judges said:

“A Splash of Colour perfectly captures the excitement of an artist at work as well as a deepening appreciation of what we have and how we can make things better. And how our work can lift people’s moods. The beauty of it all is that Kiera did this in 600 words.”

Congratulations on winning the award Kiera! How does it feel to have won your category?

It’s good. I’m pretty excited!

Your story is about a student called Scarlett who is a bit of a rebel. Scarlett tie dyes her boring school uniform bright purple and then on a visit to an art gallery, she colours in one of the black and white artworks.

What gave you the idea for your story?

I wrote down lots of ideas, 10 ideas all together and then chose my favourite. I like tie dying things but Mum doesn’t like it as much.

I also love colouring in especially dogs and I love bright colours.

Was your family proud of you for winning your category?

Yes everyone was very proud. I even got an email from my principal congratulating me.

The judges said:

“Phoebe, this story was incredible. You have got the chops to write horror and thriller. The opening is a classic thriller horror line where you show total restraint in your writing and real maturity.

“You set the timeframe for this story as no more than 15 minutes which was absolutely superb so the tension was there. The arc for your action was excellent and your pacing was excellent so well done.”

Congratulations on an incredible story Phoebe. It was truly thrilling with a gruesome twist. Where did you get your inspiration?

I’m currently in year 11 and doing Extension English. Right now we’re working on gothic literature and I’ve always been fascinated about the ‘monster within’. I also love horror.

Why did you enter the Young Writers Competition?

I’ve never entered before and my English teacher suggested I should. When I heard I won, Mrs Tedman was really excited for me.  

Is writing something you love to do and do you see it as something you’ll do as a career?

For now, writing is something I enjoy and is more of a hobby. I would like to do something creative in my career further down the track but I’m not sure what that will be yet. 

How did you enjoy the live streamed presentation?

It was so much fun – I absolutely loved it. We had five households watching including family members in London and Switzerland.

We all jumped off the couch and were screaming when I won. It was really great.

You can see the full list of our finalists and borrow an ebook of their stories on the Library’s website.