THE committee of the Scone Literary Festival announced the names of the winners of their first ever writing competition, which was judged by well-known author Rosalie Ham.
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Ham wrote the highly-acclaimed book The Dressmaker.
She will also appear at the Scone Literary Festival on November 11 and 12.
The winners were:
First prize of $400 and a certificate went to Year 12 Scone Grammar School student Kaitland Parker with her touching story, Stargazers.
“Stargazers is both well written, subtle and engaging,” Ham said.
“The author uses literary devices and is descriptive though doesn’t use extraneous words.
“It’s also an evocative story, emotive with a sense of tension and ‘mystery’.
“A simple story with great resonance.”
Second prize of $200 went to Year 9 Scone High School student Phoebe Farley for her story, A light in the Darkness.
It’s a “funny and sad, tragic and uplifting” tale about a blind girl who is teased and nicknamed ‘Bat’ by the unkind boys in her class and her new class mate and friend who helps her stand up to the bullies through his friendship and encouragement of her to be brave.
Third prize of $100 was awarded to Year 9 Muswellbrook High School student Ella Murray with her atmospheric, poetic and clever story of a budding new romance A Connection By Coffee.
The committee also presented three Encouragement Awards to entrants, each taking home $50 and a certificate for their efforts.
They were Madelaine Rose of Scone Grammar; Milarni-Rose Cloake and Lucy McGrath, both from Scone High School.
“The process of employing imagination to express ideas, then crafting those ideas to communicate emotions and information well is a skill we employ a lot,” Ham said.
“It’s good to see kids are still celebrating that skill despite the way language and communication is changing.”
Winners will be presented with their cheques and certificates at the Scone Literary Festival’s ‘Soiree in the Gardens’ event on Saturday night, November 11, at Scone Arts & Crafts, when they will have their chance to meet Rosalie Ham and The Dressmaker film producer Sue Maslin who will make the presentation.
There will also be a screening of the popular Australian film after the soiree and a photographic exhibition of the couture from the movie.
The general community of Scone and beyond are invited to attend the screening, which starts at 7.30pm.
Attending the screening only is $5 per person (children under the age of 15 are free).
There will be a lolly bar available and you are encouraged to bring a picnic rug and some nibbles for the duration of the movie.
Tickets can be bought on the door on the night.
For more information, visit www.sconewritersfestival.com.au
