Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW Inc.There were 125 entries in this year’s Marjorie Barnard Award and I enjoyed reading them all. I expected many would have the pandemic either as the focus of the story or at least in the background, but there were only three, and only one in which COVID 19 was central to the action of the story.
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The quality of the entries was very good. The winner and the commended stories were of a very high standard. I found difficulty in choosing a commended story. Those whose stories are shortlisted have high potential as creative writers.
Many writers had an imaginative story line and fell down when they didn’t deliver with tight writing.
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Good People
by Jodie Kewley, Red Hill South, Victoria
His mother hardly spoke on the long drive home, which suited him. She asked if he wanted the radio on and he said no. She asked if he wanted to stop at Maccas and he said no.
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The Voice of Nothing
by Nathan Mackrill, Year 11, Barker College
Is it the sea you hear in me?
Its dissatisfactions?
Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness?
~ ‘Elm’, by Sylvia Plath
The only word I could find to describe the silence between us was ‘crushing’.
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Decomposition
by Amelie Jenkins, Year 8, St. Scholastica’s College
My heart has begun to blister, it too giving in to death. Would it be selfish that a small part of me wishes it had fought harder?
To know that you weren’t enough,
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To a Better Future
by Rachel Theresia, Year 5, Abbotsleigh Junior School
There I was, as a wax statue. I was in the History of Famous Inventors Museum which was built in 2040, staring at my sculpture while children in their school uniforms tried to take photos of themselves with it.
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When He Was Here
by Astrid Esslinger, Year 4, Austinmer Public School.
When he was here it was brilliant, magical in fact. But when he was called to go to war, sadness drowned me. He marched boldly to fight for his country.
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RESULTS SHEET (3-page PDF 164K)
From the Competition Co-ordinator…
Thank you to the teachers and parents who encouraged the students to enter. They came from distant parts and all states and territories of Australia, as did local schools who supported our competition. All told, we had 225 entries in the school section and in the adult sections,
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