litlinks 2023

A creative writing competition for ACT school students and their teachers

Year 11& 12 Category, 2023

Image: A year 11 student writing in a notebook.

The quality of the years 11 and 12 entries was consistently high in terms of clarity of language, clever imagery and thematic intention. The judges looked for and found writing that paid attention to literary convention but without constraint.

In selecting the category winners, they rewarded writing in which good storytelling was apparent. Coherence in all of these elements was generally reflected in many of the entries received.

Congratulations all!

Click on the images and links below to explore the winners in the Years 9 & 10 Category:

Click here to read Coffee Name by Monica Cao
Click here to read Narcissus Gazing Skyward by Jack Davies
Click here to read Cobweb Pieces by Charlie Lovett
Click here to read Rabbit-Footed by Kyde Petrie

Winners:

Shortlisted Awards:

  • George Bowditch, Daramalan College – The Three Fat Pigs
  • Hannah Choi, Narrabundah College – Spot the Difference
  • Andrew Davies, Lake Tuggeranong College – Eliza Cooper from Dorset Street
  • Olivia Donohue, Trinity Christian School – Average
  • Benjamin Luke Dunlop, Erindale College – Living Death
  • Lucinda Ferguson, Erindale College – Journey’s End
  • Ebony Moss, Trinity Christian School – Advance Australia Fair
  • Ren Newman, Canberra Girls Grammar School – Rebirth

LitLinks Achievement Awards:

  • Sovandara Ban, Narrabundah College – This is Me Trying
  • Elizabeth Barker, Hawker College – Asphyxiation
  • Charlotte Bick, Brindabella Christian College – Birds of a Feather
  • Oscar Boswell, Radford College – Fixed
  • Hamish Bray, Canberra College – swan song (лебединая песня)
  • Jennifer Clark, St Francis Xavier College – Death Grieves Too
  • Neha Damodaran, Brindabella Christian College – Beyond the Shadow of the Sceptre
  • Cushla Donovan, Daramalan College – Out of the Shadows
  • Rebecca Ellis, Gungahlin College – Drifting
  • Sophie Espeland, Radford College – The Loaf
  • Angelina Fei, Radford College – East to West, Home is Best
  • Anum Ismat Faisal, Gungahlin College – I forgot my keys again
  • Izzy Faris, Radford College – The Birth
  • Marcus Hammond, Gungahlin College – Reflections
  • Tobey Krog, Lake Tuggeranong College – When Everything Changed
  • Cecelia Johns, Lake Tuggeranong College – A Delicate Balance
  • Frances Johnson, Trinity Christian School – Poppy
  • Seyara Karunaratne, Burgmann Anglican School – Lilly of the Nile
  • George Lane, Narrabundah College – Our Little Blue Kitchen
  • Teague Lefebvre, Gungahlin College – The Journey: A Modern Fairy Tale
  • Ari Matthews, Canberra College – Sirens
  • Quinn McGlashan, Canberra College – Considering Dirt
  • Azrael Pekarsky, Daramalan College – Dancing the Web of Fate
  • Olsen Pekarsky, Daramalan College – The Other
  • Natasha Perkovic, Lake Tuggeranong College – Lyrical Longing
  • Chelsea Piper, Trinity Christian School – Shatter the Will
  • Katherine Polette, Canberra College – Such Little Time
  • Hiba Rasheed, Narrabundah College – The Nursing Home
  • Melissa Reid, Brindabella Christian College – Poppers
  • Kahlea Sweet, Brindabella Christian College – The Flame of Desire
  • Emma Tuttle, Narrabundah College – Crunch Line
  • Mary Vella, Daramalan College – A Mother’s Love
  • Caitlin Wallace, Erindale College – Deliverance
  • Annika Wilson, Lake Tuggeranong College – Miss Brightside
  • Sarah Zhao, Brindabella Christian College – The Sting of Death

Judges

ACTATE thanks the Year 11 and 12 category judges, Christina Cochrane and Sandra Lambert, for their time and expertise.

Both are English teachers who also worked as educational consultants in the USA. Christina is a former ACTATE executive member and Sandra was a principal of an ACT college.