Story Writing Competition  

Celebrating Our Short Story Competition Winners

At the end of last term, Year 7 students were invited to enter Birranga College’s first Short Story Competition. Inspired by the writing and artwork of Shaun Tan, students were challenged to create an imaginative story about an Australian animal.

The judges (Mr Nicholas Hamer-Smith and Ms Karys McEwen) were deeply impressed by the creativity, originality and thoughtful ideas evident in the entries. Like Shaun Tan’s work, many of the stories transformed familiar animals into something symbolic, mysterious or unexpected, reminding us that great writing can both entertain readers and encourage them to see the world differently.

Congratulations to our three prize winners:

First prize: Vinundi, 7A — Platypus

Vinundi’s beautifully written and moving story follows a platypus that slowly disappears. Through vivid imagery and a powerful central metaphor, it explores our relationship with the natural world and the consequences of environmental change. A very worthy winner!

Second prize: Eshrit, 7E — Camel

Told from the perspective of an overburdened camel, Eshrit’s powerful story uses recurring images of ropes, footprints and an endless desert journey to explore freedom, sacrifice and what it means to be valued only for what you can provide. It is a thoughtful and affecting piece of writing.

Third prize: Aaryav, 7E — Eagle

Aaryav’s striking allegory explores greed and power through an eagle that becomes a symbol of the desire for more. Strong, memorable imagery helps the story leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Congratulations to Vinundi, Eshrit and Aaryav on their outstanding writing. We also thank every student who entered for sharing their imagination and ideas with us and hope they will all keep writing!