Budding authors on the write path with winning 2022 Short Story Competition entries

From cheese monsters on the moon to the heartbreak of war, budding young authors have again wowed the judges with their imaginative tales in this year’s Kids News Short Story Competition.

Some stories contained important moral lessons, others environmental messages and many were simply great fun to read.

Renowned children’s author and competition judge Jackie French applauded the originality and skill of the young writers.

“Reading these stories is always a highlight, and this year was no different,” Ms French said. “There are so many wonderful young writers out there. They have such vivid imaginations and an amazing ability to bring their original ideas to life in a short story.”

Kids News editor Kamahl Cogdon said she found many of the stories heartwarming.

“So many of these stories put a huge smile on my face. We all need stories like these after such a difficult couple of years with Covid,” she said.

This year’s winners were chosen from more than 1000 entries in the national competition, run by Kids News and publisher HarperCollins.

Moon gazer Georgie Bozhoff, 7, from Augusta State School near Ipswich in Queensland, declared herself “just so excited” to have won the K-2 category for her story The Cheese Moon, featuring cheesemaking cows feeding very hungry monsters.

“They’re monsters with cheese fingernails and they’re really wanting to see what the cows have made for them,” Georgie said.

The Grade 2 student had written “thousands and thousands” of stories but never entered a competition before.

A fan of Margaret Wild and Andy Griffiths, Georgie writes in her bedroom “because it’s peaceful in there, it’s a bit of a hidden room.”

As well as recording voice messages and creating Post It piles so she doesn’t lose any ideas, Georgie’s other top tip is writing something “fun and really entertaining for a reader.”

Car mad Tom Williams, 10, won the Years 3-4 category with The Magic Mustang, a story about a toy car that transforms into a life-size set of wheels during a full moon.

“I love cars, especially Mustangs,” said the Grade 4 student from Williamstown North Primary School in Victoria.

“I love the shape of Mustangs, all the different colours they can come in and also how long they’ve been around for.”

Tom’s recipe for success centres on writing about things he’s interested in, including cars, sport and the beach.

“I always do a story plan before I start to make sure I have a beginning, middle and end,” he added.

Years 5-6 winner Boris Eroshenko wanted his winning story, The Bog King, to have a message for readers.

“With my story I am trying to say that it’s easier to be kind and being mean won’t really get you anywhere,” Boris, 12, said.

The Grade 6 student at Wattleview Primary School in Victoria said he was inspired to write his story about a puddle that wanted to be famous by stories his grandma told him about sailing miniature cardboard boats in puddles as a child.

“I thought what if it was not just the kids playing in the puddle, but the puddle was also playing with them,” he said.

Prolific writer Matilda Burns, 12, wrote three other stories that “didn’t seem right” before penning Home, the tale of a star-crossed WWII friendship between a young Jewish girl and a member of Hitler Youth that took out the Years 7-9 crown.

“I wanted there to be loss and heartbreak, then forgiveness at the end, the redemption,” said the Grade 7 student from Queensland’s Gympie region, who is homeschooled by mum Colleen.

While she has been writing non-stop since she was three and hopes to be an author, Matilda adheres to the old adage of writers being readers first.

“I did a lot of my own research,” she said. “I read a lot of different genres, a lot of different authors … and I was interested in learning more about the Holocaust.”

Along with the four winners, a runner-up and three highly commended entries were chosen in each age group. Read all the winning stories at the bottom of this page.

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THE WINNERS ARE …

KINDER-YEAR 2

First:
The Cheese Moon, by Georgie Bozhoff, Augusta State School, Queensland
From the judges: I want to see the cheese monsters on the moon! This story was delightfully told with a superb imagination. One test of a good story is whether it stays in your imagination weeks later – and this one did.

Second:
Downward, by Lillah Green, John Colet School, NSW
From the judges: A very complex plot for such a young writer and a great story.

Highly commended:
The Little Elephant Luca, by Lucas Jin, Mount View Primary School, Victoria
From the judges: Enormous fun – a great story to read!

PR for Sharks, by Ethan Hemphill, Moriah College, NSW
From the judges: Reflects our image-obsessed times in an entertaining and original way.

Lilly’s Hair Problem, by Cassandra Yeow, Epping Public School, NSW
From the judges: starts as a tale of opposites, ends with the positive moral embracing the individual.

YEARS 3-4

First:
The Magic Mustang, by Tom Williams, Willamstown North Primary, Victoria
From the judges: A complete story with a beautiful narrative progression.

Second:
The Long Way Home, by Ariana Fais, Shelford Girls’ Grammar, Victoria
From the judges: A delightful story that showed complexity and maturity for the writer’s age. It also had a superb ending.

Highly Commended:
The Fox & the Eagle, by Lavinia Kinderis, St Joseph’s Primary School, Victoria
From the judges: This story had a great plot and a thoroughly original ending. I enjoyed it!

The Magic Eyelash, by Cooper Hanly, St Columba’s School, Queensland
From the judges: A well-told story with a clever ending and a strong message about a modern-day problem.

The Ring, by Jay Chan, Rostrata Primary School, WA
From the judges: A wonderful evocation of emotion and imagery.

YEARS 5-6

First:
The Bog King, by Boris Eroshenko, Wattleview Primary School, Victoria
From the judges: I loved the Ultimate Mud Man. It made me want to jump in a puddle. I loved reading this story.

Second:
The Hunger Trail, by Aditya Paul, Epping Public School, NSW
From the judges: A powerful, exciting story with the courage to have a selfish ending. I thought that for a writer of that age not to have a nice ending, but instead a selfish ending, was very courageous and showed real maturity.

Highly commended:
More Than a Goldfish, by Susanna Lau, West Pennant Hills Public School, NSW
From the judges: This story had a gripping middle and a surprising outcome.

Invisible, by Jack Keniry, Woodend Primary School, Victoria
From the judges: Gory but a very well told story.

The Search for Home, by Edie Habermehl, Yeronga State School, Queensland
From the judges: The story is fun with a lovely brightness to its language.

YEARS 7-9

First:
Home, by Matilda Burns, Jubilee Christian College, Queensland
From the judges: A great story with superb progression of confused emotions. Very cleverly written, it’s very difficult to write confusion without it being confusing and I thought she managed it.

Second:
Sprint Against Bullets, by Mackenzie Li, Huntingtower School, Victoria
From the judges: Well told, vivid and heartbreaking.

Highly commended:
A Blank Canvas, by Kate Daniel, Westminster School, SA
From the judges: Vivid storytelling and imaginative.

The Miracle Pill, by Austin Su, Glen Waverley Secondary College, Victoria
From the judges: This story progresses beautifully and evenly, which is something that the reader needs. It has excellent pacing and a controlled use of dialogue.

Embers, by Indigo Leyland, St Mary’s Catholic College, Queensland
From the judges: This story creates quite an unsettling atmosphere, but I admire it as a story, especially its powerful, unexpected ending.

READ THEIR STORIES HERE: