litlinks 2025

A creative writing competition for ACT school students and their teachers

Year 9 & 10 Category, 2025

Image: Year 9 girl listening to music and writing on a laptop.

The judges enjoyed all of the stories. The most successful ones had a clear theme and offered hope to readers, even if the topic was grim. A tight or original approach to structure, minimising the number of characters but developing them effectively, and using language in creative and original ways, made for great storytelling.

The range of genres and subjects covered showed that year 9 and 10 students are thinking and experimenting broadly with their approach to writing, and engaging readers in interesting ways.

Congratulations to all who entered.

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

Image: An illustration of a 13-year-old soldier from world war II. He is standing on a barren battlefield, with a devastated city in the background. This image was generated using AI Tools.
Image: A redgum tree seen in the moonlight, from a bedroom window. This image was generated using AI Tools.
Image: An illustration of a clockmaker's house in a tiny village in surrounded by rolling hills. This image was generated using AI Tools.
Image: The profile view of a thin, old man sitting in a battered leather chair, in a grey and bleak room. On the wall is a clock set to midnight. The old man looks out a window to contrasting scene of a sunny garden, with ivy and jasmine plants, lush and a little wild. This image was edited using AI Tools.
Image: A teenage student in a classroom, taking an exam. She looks very stressed. This image was edited using AI Tools.

Winners:

Shortlisted Awards:

  • Keya Chovatiya, Amaroo School – Embers of the Wild
  • Mackenzie Farnham, St John Paul II College – A Little Bit PSYCHO
  • Lauren Ford, Melrose High School – The Suffering of Eternality
  • Nicholas Markham, Amaroo School – Blueberries
  • Holly Mere, Melrose High School – The Red Glove Killer
  • Elena Munoz, St Clare’s College – The Poster Wall
  • Ashlyn Notari, Wanniassa High School – Nish
  • Olea Puric, Melrose High School – I Wish I Was You
  • Ria Sambandam, Brindabella Christian College – Caribbean to Croydon
  • Elmore Wenholz, Harrison School – Occupational Oneirology

LitLinks Achievement Awards:

  • Arooba Abbasi, Alfred Deakin High School – Green-Eyed
  • Mikhail Attar Limantara, Lyneham High School – My Deathly Heart
  • Anujin Baasandagva, Mt Stromlo High School – A Trolley Problem
  • Prakiti Baral, Melrose High School – The Lighthouse
  • Elka Clarkson, Belconnen High School – Haunted
  • Connie Coulter, Harrison School – Paint It White
  • Cassandra Crabtree, Caroline Chisholm School – False Security
  • Madeleine Crispe, Daramalan College – Kurai Yoru Hahaoya
  • Kailee Curtis, Wanniassa High School – Do You Think I Have Forgotten?
  • Prajeet Dasgupta, Alfred Deakin High School – Anything But a Bear
  • Ghazan Faraz, Harrison School – A Magic Touch
  • Dhihain Fernando, Brindabella Christian College – A Tale of Revelation
  • Holly Forward, Belconnen High School – Despair of the Fae
  • Loga Gandhi, Canberra Girls Grammar School – Reflection Between the Woods
  • Lily George, Telopea Park School – We’re All Mad Here
  • Emily Goeldner, Wanniassa High School – Star Atlas
  • Amy Grace, St John Paul II College – Inside and Out
  • Kume Grieve, Mt Stromlo High School – The Memory Stained House
  • Thomas Hanlan, Blue Gum Community School – A Peculiar Night in Stockholm
  • Lachlan He, Caroline Chisholm School – Neo Osaka
  • Maheen Jabran, Alfred Deakin High School – Before the Flowers Wilted
  • Gemma Klose, Mt Stromlo High School – The Quilt
  • Alexa McCann, St Mary Mackillop College – All the Cards in the Deck
  • Jett McDonald, Lanyon High School – The Night Smiled
  • Felix Miller, St Mary Mackillop College – Pièce de Résistance
  • Lilly Mitchell, Daramalan College – Ivory and Blood
  • Skye Mitry, Kingsford Smith School – The Martyr of Moltera
  • Khadija Mustansir, Caroline Chisholm School – The Part of You
  • Phoebe Needham, Daramalan College – The Silence Between Seconds
  • Misha Pandya, UC High School Kaleen – Behind The Scenes
  • Luka Petkovski, Alfred Deakin High School – Short Crime Story
  • Mary Rahman, Lyneham High School – Under Bruised Skies
  • Aziz Ur Rahman, Amaroo School – Abnormis
  • Amelia Rick, St Mary Mackillop College – The Luthier
  • Stevie-Rae Robinson, Lanyon High School – Cold Burns
  • Scarlett Sedgwick, Alfred Deakin High School – The Day That I Remembered
  • Mya Sherwood, Caroline Chisholm School – The Diary of Sasha Collins
  • Crystal Shiers, Mt Stromlo High School – The King’s Guardian: Reborn
  • Lexy Shiers, Mt Stromlo High School – An Unexpected Adventure
  • Tyler Rae Swampillai, Caroline Chisholm School – The Lamb
  • Tanush Taneja, Harrison School – The Gardener’s Garden
  • Courtney Taylor, Wanniassa High School – Fall From Grace
  • Divya Vijaykumar, Calwell High School – Hidden Story of Fragmented Memories
  • Zile Wang, Lyneham High School – Tears of Blood
  • Ariana Xholi, Melrose High School – The Fairytale of Odd
  • Bonnie Yang, Lyneham High School – The Caged Bird Sings Again

Judges

ACTATE thanks the Year 9 & 10 category judges, Dennis Flannery and Jo Egan, for their time and expertise.

Dennis is an English teacher, ACTATE life member, and former ACTATE president and school principal.

Jo is an English teacher, tutor and mentor, ACTATE Member, editor, and a film and children’s literature enthusiast.