2023 VATE Writing Competition

VATE is excited to launch our 2023 writing competition, A Story in Miniature. Students in Years 7-12 and their teachers are invited to submit a story between 300 and 500 words in length inspired by the writing competition theme.

Short stories do not say this happened and this happened and this happened. They are a microcosm and a magnification rather than a linear progression.

―Isobelle Carmody

We encourage students and teachers to find inspiration from the miniature stories that make up our daily life – the small interactions and delightful tidbits that make up our day – and transform them, with brevity, into a piece of polished prose. What could a story in miniature be?

Yellow Submarine

Sarah told her friends she’d rather die than go away with her stupid family. She said she’d prefer to make out with some creepy dude with bad breath than endure, for two whole weeks, her brother’s surliness, her dad’s relentless optimism, her mum’s jeans. The morning they pulled out, the sun igniting the dew on their lawn, she stared out of her window and contemplated the vast pointlessness of everything. Thirteen kilometres later, she caught herself humming along to Yellow Submarine on the radio, then noticed her father watching her through the rear-view mirror. He winked. She may have smiled.

―© Paul Connolly (Text Publishing)

Competition entry details

There are four categories available in the competition. Schools may submit up to five entries for each of the categories:

Years 7-8 students | Years 9-10 students | Years 11-12 students | Teachers

Each entry must be accompanied by a completed entry form (see Miss McCarthy in D7/D8 office for the form) and email it to writingcompetition@vate.org.au by 4pm on Friday 15 September 2023.
Entries without a completed entry form will not be considered.

The winners of each category will each receive a $150 book voucher, and their stories will be published in Idiom. The runners up will receive a book package from our competition supporters.