FOUND OBJECTS 2025
📚✨ Book Launch
The Found Objects Writing Project has celebrated its third highly successful year with the publication of the Found Objects 2025 anthology of student writing.
The Found Objects project was begun in 2023 with the aim of inspiring and showcasing writers and writing at Lilydale High School. It’s about writing with passion and purpose to be read by genuinely appreciative audiences.
This year’s edition is a wonderful treasure trove of short stories, biographies, poetry and personal writing by sixty contributing student authors from Lilydale High School. With futuristic fantasies and haunting histories, personal essays and open letters, action-packed adventures and speculative science fiction, hair-raising horrors and soothing verses, and thrilling dramas and warm romances, there is something for all to discover and enjoy.
On Thursday 18 December, the Found Objects authors gathered together with their families, friends, guests and teachers in the school theatre for the official launch of Found Objects 2025, and to receive their eagerly awaited copies of the published book.
Many of the authors also took to the stage at the launch to present their perspectives on the project and share their love of writing and of becoming published authors.
Hannah Cashman, Declan Kruize and Ella Fream led the proceedings, explaining to the audience how the Found Objects writing process operates, talking about the pieces they have crafted over the years and the ways in which Found Objects has been an outlet and an inspiration for their creativity.
Peter Bouw and Ben Hade shared their appreciation of the ways in which Found Objects has provided an opportunity to extend themselves, to express ideas, experiment with genres and styles of writing, to hone their skills and to feel rewarded by proudly seeing their writing professionally published. They also shared their deep gratitude for former student Ayzia Mitchell, and the many ways that she has assisted them and so many of the other writers with advice, encouragement and fine-tuning of their pieces.
Kayla Ackland and Drew Huxley spoke of the ways that being a part of Found Objects has encouraged them to push themselves creatively, connect with other writers and to have an opportunity to express ideas that are deeply important to them. They also praised and presented a gift to our principal, Wendy Powson, for the wonderful ways that she has promoted and enabled the Found Objects project to flourish.
Hermione Crocker spoke not only of her contribution as a writer, but as the designer of the cover for this year’s anthology, and the creator of the stunning hand-drawn artwork that graces her beautiful cover design.
Found Objects truly is testament to the incredible depth of imaginative creativity and writing talent to be found among our students at Lilydale High School. We could not be more proud of all who have invested such effort and dedication to make this a very valuable experience for writers and readers alike.
Copies of the Found Objects 2025 anthology and the Found Objects 2024 anthology may be purchased from the school for $20.00 each.
Please contact Kieran Crowley to arrange for your copy:
crowley.kieran.k@lilydalehs.vic.edu.au
Hermione
Hermione
Kieran Crowley
📚✨ Student Speech: Hannah Cashman (9G)
It’s an absolute privilege to speak about the 2025 Found Objects Writing Project. This year has been incredible - not just because of the stories we’ve written, but because of the way this project transforms the ordinary into something extraordinary. Every piece started with something small, something simple, and yet the results are thoughtful, unique, and deeply moving.
For me personally, this year’s piece was about a girl who finds a button that feels heavier than it should - not physically, but emotionally. The idea of the button being so significant actually came from my brother. He imagined that a small object could hold a promise, a quiet connection, a kind of goodbye that stays with you forever. In it, she later discovers the button belonged to her father’s World War II jacket. Writing it reminded me that even the smallest objects can carry the largest stories - moments, memories, goodbyes, and emotions that linger far longer than we expect. It’s this kind of quiet discovery, this reflection on what we hold onto and why, that makes this project so meaningful.
The process itself is just as important as the final stories. Each of us worked individually, starting with a single object and letting it guide our imagination. There were no brainstorming groups or structured steps - just time, space, and the freedom to explore. We learned to slow down, to notice details most people would pass by, and to ask ourselves: what story could this object hold? That patient process allowed our creativity to grow in ways that are often surprising, emotional, and deeply personal.
Over the past three years, being part of this project has shaped the way I write, the way I think, and the way I see the world. It teaches patience, curiosity, and the ability to notice what others might overlook. It shows that even the smallest things - a button, a photograph, a forgotten letter - can hold immense meaning, and that the act of paying attention itself is powerful.
This year, the Found Objects Writing Project reminded me - and I hope it reminds everyone here - that stories are everywhere. They can hide in the quietest places, in the smallest details, and in moments we might otherwise miss. And when we take the time to notice them, we discover something truly extraordinary.