litlinks 2025

A creative writing competition for ACT school students and their teachers

Year 7 & 8 Category, 2025

Image: A Yr 7 student writing on a laptop at home

With a record 91 entries in the Year 7 & 8 category, this year’s entrants offered us a captivating range of stories revealing diversity and depth. Unified by themes of inner conflict, they ranged from hopeful reflections on creativity to darker explorations of despair, with escape emerging as the collection’s defining motif.

Congratulations to all writers! The judges were united in their praise for the originality and creativity in the storytelling. A pleasure to judge!

Click on the images and links below to explore the winners in the Year 7 & 8 Category:

Image: A teenage mountain climber, trapped on a rock ledge in the midst of a stor. This image was created using AI Tools.
Image: A young woman on the deck of a deep sea trawler boat. She wears a colourful beanie and a dark, waterproof jacket. This image was created using AI Tools.
Image: A painter's studio. A blank canvas stands on an easel in front of a large window. It's raining outside. This image was created using AI Tools.
Image: A silhouette of a woman stands in a dystopian tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, there is a large door that opens to a vibrant, wild landscape. This image was created using AI Tools.

Winners:

Shortlisted Awards:

  • Rushda Ali, Lyneham High School – The Princess of Jadilon
  • Abhisree Banerjee, Trinity Christian School – Those Who Truly Love You
  • Rossa Basic, Blue Gum Community School – The Last Breath
  • Sarah Briant, Covenant Christian School – The Day the Raiders Came
  • Olivia Edwards, Melrose High School – A Word Breaks a Heart
  • Emmett Jasprizza, Daramalan College – The Clock Maker’s Apprentice
  • Harshika Mehra, Telopea Park School – Where the Canvas Cracked
  • Alexandra Mogaldeanu, St John Paul II College – The Little Bench By The River
  • Amber Stewart, Lanyon High School – Heart of a Mutt
  • Advika Thatte, Canberra Girls Grammar School – The Spider Never Came

LitLinks Achievement Awards:

  • Mohammed Al-Baidhani, Alfred Deakin High School – The Goal That Changed Everything
  • Isis Alwast, Lyneham High School – Little Sister
  • Muhtasim Azfaar, Telopea Park School – The Opal
  • Alaina Bacasno, Melrose High School – Growing Wings
  • Maggie Bains, Blue Gum Community School – Novus Terra
  • Sophia Barbour, Caroline Chisholm School – Taking Control
  • Olivia Berry, Melrose High School – The Forgotten Island
  • Jessica Bolten, Daramalan College – Hallucinations
  • Lachlan Booth, Wanniassa High School – Phillip’s Quest: The Steel Foe – Sellen’s Knight Guard
  • Phoenix Boyce, UC High School Kaleen – Help
  • Evelyn Buchanan, St John Paul II College – Home
  • Aurora Burston, Canberra Girls Grammar School – Society’s Cradle
  • Lucy Carroll, Campbell High School – 5 Years
  • Ivy Chen, Aunty Agnes Shea High School – The Airport
  • Tilly Churchill, Melrose High School – Soldiers Don’t Run
  • Mary Collett, Daramalan College – Niya
  • Matilda Cooper, Lanyon High School – The Howling Below
  • Alliya Fatima, Alfred Deakin High School – Amal and the Green Kingdom
  • Sadie Fitzgibbon, Canberra High School – Cookies
  • Henni Fiumara, Blue Gum Community School – The Rainbow From Beyond
  • Cameron Gal, Lanyon High School – The Room
  • Meredith Henzell, Canberra High School – Plastic Spoons
  • Charli Hewitt, Lanyon High School – The Moment When Everything Clicked
  • Zoe Higgins, Wanniassa High School – Spiral
  • Nina Hummelshoj, Canberra High School – The Antidote
  • Mia Ings, Campbell High School – Cranks Academy
  • Jasnoor Kaur, Aunty Agnes Shea High School – As She Jumped
  • Alex Kilpatrick, Telopea Park School – Milk Money
  • Matilda Lambert, Canberra Grammar School – A Reflection Once Savoured
  • Lily Kim, Harrison School – Alis Grave Nil
  • Emily Le, Aunty Agnes Shea High School – Growing Pains and Gains
  • Elle Lindsay, UC High School Kaleen – Baum
  • Anthea Lim, Harrison School – The Beginning or the End
  • Marta Linehan, Alfred Deakin High School – Nikola and the Nazis
  • Isobel Lockie, Telopea Park School – Everything Eddie
  • Ellie Mair, Daramalan College – Ocean-Blue Eyes
  • Shivani Maneesh, Alfred Deakin High School – The Dance Memory Lane
  • Nerissa McCallum, Caroline Chisholm School – A New Life Thrown Away
  • Sammy Narayanan, Belconnen High School – Things Aren’t As They Seem
  • Phoebe Nicol, Caroline Chisholm School – The Mirror
  • Maya O’Callaghan, Wanniassa High School – The Edge of Obsession
  • Leon Ofiana, Gold Creek School – The Walking Prison
  • Salha Omer, Aunty Agnes Shea High School – The Scratches of Midnight
  • Aekeri Ong, Gold Creek School – A Mind Like Mist
  • Jack O’Sullivan, St John Paul II College – The Mysterious Brown Blob
  • Shreya Pandya, UC High School Kaleen – The Wrong Door
  • Ivy Pascoe-Simpson, Radford College – Blue Coat
  • Emmeline Perrin, Harrison School – Drowning Lessons and Autumn Leaves
  • Sophia Podloujnaya, Harrison School – Her Comfort Cabin
  • Evelyn Pollard, St John Paul II College – Sunk
  • Sofia Raihan, Lyneham High School – The Silence of Ink
  • Shyna Raju, Belconnen High School – Pirate Ship Adventure
  • Shemaya Randeniya, Aunty Agnes Shea High School – The Haunted Mansion
  • Jackson Riley, Lanyon High School – Mr Clark …
  • Alisha Shafi, Amaroo School – Star-Crossed
  • Aenea Shannon, Gold Creek School – μανία (Mania)
  • Anjali Sharma, Canberra Girls Grammar School – What was Green
  • Aurora Sharma, St John Paul II College – Room #306 – It is Only the Beginning
  • Adel Sibayan, Canberra High School – The Sun and the Moon
  • Ayat Sikander, Telopea Park School – The Unblinking Eye
  • Isaac Simon, Covenant Christian School – West Midland Apocalypse
  • Bien Alexa Singson, Belconnen High School – Reunited by Fate
  • Kit Solley, Blue Gum Community School – Two Hours Left
  • Jemima Spinaze, Covenant Christian School – 85 – 19 – 45
  • Ansum Subedi, Amaroo School – The Little Secret
  • Jessica Sui, Canberra Girls Grammar School – Whispers of Shame
  • Chloe Tan, Canberra Girls Grammar School – Stolen Seconds
  • August Taylor, Melrose High School – The House in the Woods
  • Keyanne Toh, Harrison School – Saudade
  • Elvira Versace, Alfred Deakin High School – Memoirs of a SparkleMuffin
  • Georgia Walker, Radford College – The Move
  • Hannah White, Covenant Christian School – Happiness Comes in Waves
  • Sophie Wolf, Mt Stromlo High School – Alone
  • Olivia Yaxley, Daramalan College – Hypnotised
  • Rachel Yu, Radford College – Into the Storm
  • Anne Zhang, Gold Creek School – A Short While

Judges

ACTATE thanks the Year 7 & 8 category judges, Jenine Westerburg and Teresa Nugent, for their time and expertise.

Jenine is an English teacher, ACTATE executive member, reading tutor and writing advocate. Teresa is an Early Childhood speech and drama teacher, ACTATE member, and reading and writing advocate.