The winners of the 2017 Central Coast Council Library Service annual Short Story Competition were announced at a well-attended awards ceremony, on Thursday, November 30.
This is the second consecutive year the competition has been held across the Coast, creating a platform for hopeful local authors to be discovered and recognised, whilst developing literacy skills in the community.
Council Unit Manager Libraries, Michelle Swan-Beardmore, was at the ceremony to present the winners with their Apple iPad, to help cultivate their creative writing.
“Congratulations to all those who took out an award,” Ms Swan-Beardmore said.
“With a record number of 234 entries, receiving an award is a noteworthy accomplishment.
“We are incredibly proud of the Library’s role in nurturing and inspiring our amazing local talent to help not only boost the profile of creative writing across the Coast, but also to encourage the development of literacy skills within our community.
“We would like to thank everyone who was brave enough to submit their original stories.”
The winners in each category are:
Junior 5-8 – Chase McGarvey of Hamlyn Terrace, for ‘Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover’.
Child 9-12 – Isabella Pex of Berkeley Vale, for ‘Destiny’s Quest’.
Youth 13-17 – Sophie Miller of Hamlyn Terrace, for ‘Rising Sky’.
Council Director, Connected Communities, Ms Julie Vaughan, said the talent displayed this year was absolutely outstanding, making the judges’ decisions significantly challenging.
“This is such an incredible program, and I commend our libraries for their part in cultivating creative writing in our local community,” Ms Vaughan said.
“With only 40 per cent of our population having completed year 12 or equivalent, our Libraries play an important role in encouraging education and learning, so it is fantastic to see all ages getting involved in this competition,” Ms Vaughan said.
Source:
Media release, Dec 1
Central Coast Council media