Shortlist 2020 Short Story competition written by children in year 4,5 & 6

This year there were a record number of entries, nearly 300, from all across Australia. Children wrote across genres and styles – fantasy, emotional realism, detective stories, science fiction, choose your own adventure, graphic novel, adventure and escape.

The judges were very impressed by the seriousness of some of the topics some children chose to write about – bullying, homelessness, refugees, transportation, abandonment, and child abuse.

There were also cheerful stories celebrating friendship, school and family life, siblings, and animals both real and invented.

Because there were so many stories of high standard we have introduced a Highly Commended category to the award. These are for writers who wrote extremely well and show great promise, and we encourage them to continue in their efforts. All the children selected demonstrated a wide vocabulary and had fun using it. They wrote fluently using complex sentences characterised by pace and punctuation.

The winner will receive $100 and their story will be published on StoryLinks.

SHORT LIST

Congratulations to the following:

The Cookie That Could by Sara Allen

Gratitude by Leonard Cavallaro

Hope by Aaron Ding

The Pumpkin Puzzle by Matilda Rogers

Mysterious Pen by Chrissy Zhang

Highly Commended: In no particular order.

Soar by Elijah Kenning; Pumpkin Pot by Monish Panyam; The Willow Tree by Aaron Ding; Slothi and the Mud Cake by Ryan Rupake; When the Sky Falls by Sienna Wilkinson; The Scar by Ayansa Nemdini De Silva; Eyes of Doom by Ky-An Vu; Hospital Check Up by Ameliana Scholl; Restart by Ayla  Usman; Maisie’s Journey by Maia Heron.

The winner will be announced during Australia Reads on Sunday 1 November via Zoom

Time 3:00 – 3:30 EST Story Links short story competition for young writers 

The best of the entries will be read aloud. BOOK HERE if you want to be part of the audience. This is a free event.