litlinks 2025

A creative writing competition for ACT school students and their teachers

Year 11& 12 Category, 2025

Image: A year 12 student writing in a notebook.

As judges, we were thoroughly impressed with the outstanding quality of this year’s entries. It was an enjoyable task to read through a wide range of topics that included identity, well being and mental health, power, war, class and poverty, sexism,  death and survival, and art and the environment. The winners should be very proud of their short stories because, in all cases, they have achieved the sort of writing that professional writers strive for.

Thank you to all entrants for warming the hearts and minds of the judges with your wonderful stories. Don’t stop writing!

Click on the images and links below to explore the winners in the Year 11 & 12 Category:

Image: A dark male figure, wearing 18th century clothing. He looks down upon a futuristic city, with glowing lights, traffic and huge buildings. He's holding a mobile phone that glows with social media on the screen. This image was created using AI Tools.
Image: A small, old apple orchard. A ramshackle shed can be seen amongst the trees. Apples have fallen and lay bruised on the ground. This image was created using AI Tools.
Image: An old city square. Under a sagging green awning in front of a cafe, an old piano that has weathered over years sits, waiting to be played. This image was created using AI Tools.
Image: A house in a non-descript suburban street. This image was created using AI Tools.

Winners:

Shortlisted Awards:

  • Layla Baker-Gabb, Narrabundah College – New York is a Good Place
  • Lucy Birtles, UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra – A Silent Persistence
  • Aimee Ehlers, Hawker College – Manosphere
  • Iggy Gavrilovic, Lake Tuggeranong College – Unseen Loads
  • Malakai Hayes, Lake Tuggeranong College – Taking the Bump
  • Mimi Huang, Dickson College – black-berry
  • Thanh Nguyen, Gungahlin College – People
  • Lucy Thorpe, St John Paul II College – The Itchy Jumper
  • Qian Vizjak, Radford College – Code Blue, Forever
  • Zoe White, Canberra College – Monster

LitLinks Achievement Awards:

  • Ali Alabd, UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra – Form B27
  • Nicholas Allen, Daramalan College – Usurper/Cold Shoulder
  • Rose Haji Babaei, Narrabundah College – Greed Among the Poor
  • Sarah Berjaoui, Lake Tuggeranong College – So Very Motherly
  • Ava Bond, St Mary Mackillop College – The Doctor
  • Anika Chaturvedi, Radford College – Collectables
  • Clelia Ciocca-Marchant, Canberra College – The Grandfather Clock
  • Brynn Christiansen, Canberra College – Bad at Death
  • Stella Fraser, Dickson College – Running the Class Race
  • Emily Gardener, Gungahlin College – With The Flames Comes The Burning
  • Calen Gould, Daramalan College – A Letter to Her Younger Self
  • Aidan Harding, Marist College – Kill the Basilisk
  • Abigail Hernandez, St John Paul II College – The Light
  • Louise Hill, St Clare’s College – Life of a Household
  • Tahlia Hunt, Radford College – Where the Shadows Fall
  • Lauren Jensen, Gungahlin College – Switch It Off
  • Lila Johnson, St Clare’s College – Escaping with Colour
  • Cameo Juckes, Canberra College – Kosciuszko
  • Rico La Cock, Canberra College – Frequency
  • Jacob Lee, Dickson College – Reminiscence
  • Angelina Lin, Canberra Girls Grammar School – A Dance Like Clockwork
  • Jude Livermore, UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra – Immortal
  • Sean Loney, Daramalan College – We’re Old Enough
  • Sophie Moriarty, Lake Tuggeranong College – The Sorry Cycle
  • Ayaan Naseem, St John Paul II College – The Fire Alarm
  • Hailey Nguyen, Lake Tuggeranong College – The Taste of Home
  • Toby Nitural, Narrabundah College – My Burden is Light
  • Tessa O’Brien, UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra – Heavy Chairs and Cold Legs
  • Zabrina Pang, Dickson College – Nothing Tastes Like The End
  • Jaya Pitchford, Canberra Girls Grammar School – Into the Maelstrom
  • Shanaya Randeniya, Gungahlin College – Ticket
  • Lainie Robertson, UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra – It’s All Uphill From Here
  • Sophia Sandry, Narrabundah College – James 1:20
  • Wannie Sirivej, Hawker College – Tick. Tock. Tick.
  • Leo Turner, Narrabundah College – Difference
  • Afryna Yarbakhsh, Dickson College – Little Brothers

Judges

ACTATE thanks the Year 11 & 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.