There was a record of 1,535 entries from 28 local schools in this year’s Write Stuff writing competition for Bailiwick schoolchildren.
The competition is organised as part of the Guernsey Literary Festival and festival director Claire Allen said that the organisers were ‘absolutely delighted’ with the numbers of young writers who were involved.
There are four competition classes, Primary (years 3-6), Intermediate (years 7-9), and Senior (years 10+), and a primary and secondary class for Additional Learning Needs students.
The judges were illustrator, author and character designer Dapo Adeola, Louie Stowell, who writes the Loki books about magic, gods and monsters (mostly), Pari Thomson, the author of the New York Times bestselling Greenwild series, and Dr Huw Lewis Jones, polar-exploring author and naturalist, who grew up in Guernsey.
All four were at a special presentation of awards to the winners during the Festival. The competition is sponsored by Julius Baer and supported by Guernsey Literary Festival partners including the Guille-Allès Library, Aurigny, Guernsey Arts, Island Families and U&US.
The theme of this year’s competition, the 11th time it has been held, was The Journey, and first prize in the Primary class went to The Way Through the Maze, by Barnaby Mauger from Hautes Capelles Primary School.
Judge Dapo Adeola said of Barnaby’s story: “This story does so many things with so few words. I like how the friendship dynamic was introduced so smoothly. I really liked the way the author was able to build the idea of a world that has so many questions that are waiting to be answered.
“Even though the story has an ending, it felt like the beginning of an even bigger adventure. It’s clear that this author has an understanding of how to craft a compelling narrative – there’s a promising future ahead in storytelling should they choose to pursue it.”
Intermediate winner (years 7-9) was I’m Sick of Yellow Bricks, by Maya Dittmar from Elizabeth College. Intermediate judge Louie Stowell said that Maya’s entry was “a brilliant short story, full of personality and humour.
“This story gives a unique take on a classic story and it stood out both in terms of the strong and lively voice. It reminded me a little of Terry Pratchett, if he was in a deliciously grumpy mood. Justice for the Yellow Brick Road.”
Winner of the senior class (years 10+) was Trapped in the Pages, by Hollie Vaudin of St Sampson’s High School. “This beautifully written story immediately draws the reader in with rich description and a wonderfully imaginative twist,” said judge Pari Thomson. “The atmospheric writing skilfully sets up a challenge for the main character, making us want to find out what comes next.”
Seth Carter from Le Rondin (year 5) won the top junior ALN award for We’re Going on a Goat Rescue, and the senior award went to Antonio Des Santos from Le Murier for The Cheddar Journey.
Judge Huw Lewis Jones said of Seth’s story: “Inspired by a familiar formula, we took the bear hunt to a next level. A goat odyssey no less! It had me chuckling and wondering what might happen next. Surprising and entertaining. Well done.”
Huw said that Antonio’s story was “cinematic in scope, with added action. And cheese! I enjoyed the animal perspective, encouraging empathy and connecting us with the drama. I followed along in anticipation to its sad, inevitable ending. I hope the scientists rue their actions and put a stop to their meddling.”
This year the Festival commissioned Alderney based illustrator Lynda Adlington to produce bespoke illustrations of the winning stories and all the first, second and third prize winners received an original illustration of their stories.
Lynda said: “It was a delight to illustrate the children’s stories in the Write Stuff competition. They were great stories and very imaginative. I hope the children liked their Illustrations and that I managed to bring them to life for them. They were a lot of fun to do.”
