Results

2009 Marjorie Barnard Award for Short Stories

Judge's Report:

It was an honour to judge this year's Marjorie Barnard Award, and I'm very pleased to report that despite the low number of entries received (42), the general standard was high.  Plot-wise, car accidents were a strong theme in this year's competition.  Four out of the nine short listed entries involved car accidents!  

I had a tough time choosing between Fault Lines and the winning entry Live at the Bellevue.  

The winning entry (Live at the Bellevue) is about a woman (Helen) who, while staying overnight at a rather run-down hotel, finds herself the only person in the audience during the live entertainment. Helen, the musician and the hotel are all just a bit past their use-by-date. The description of the hotel through Helen's eyes, recalling a more glamorous past, set the mood for the story.  I admired the author's attention to detail, for example:  "She could have wished the table cloth had less stains, since they were not hers, but forgave them when she saw the neatly darned hole hiding under the sugar bowl."  I found the two characters entirely convincing. In many ways the plot was predictable, but the characters' reactions to the events are what make this story a winner.   

I would also like to congratulate the authors of these short listed entries.

Pippa Kay

Read the prize-winning entry here.

2009 Hilarie Lindsay Award

Section 1 (Yrs 10,11,12)

1st Prize:  Violet Macdonald, Home Education for 'Blades of Grass'
Highly Commended:  Grace Wells, Tasmanian Academy for 'The Wolf Who Couldn't'

Section 2 (Yrs 7, 8 9)

1st Prize:  Sam Proietto, Scotch College, Melbourne for 'Assassination'
Highly Commended:  Fiona Lam, Sydney Girls High School for 'Lots of Love'
Commended:  Jasmine van Aken, Wodonga Middle Years College for 'Playing with Fire'

Section 3 (Yrs 5, 6)

Winner:  Nicole Sang Ah Yeom, Epping Heights Public School for 'High Street'

Section 4 (Yr 4 and under)

Winner:  David Szabo, Nowra Public School for 'The Key'

David receiving his winner's certificate at a ceremony at school

Judge's Report

Section 1

A similar list of criteria was used in the judging of this section as for Section 2 which attracted more than four times its number of entrants.  The standard of these entries however was, strangely, considerably lower.  As a results, only two stories could be considered for awards.  Dialogue was effectively used in some stories.  Truncated endings occurred often, leaving me as a reader feeling cheated.  Melodrama or over-use of flowery adjectives detracted from the point of the stories in some cases.

Winner:  'Blades of Grass' - an intriguing study of a child learning some of the realities of life.  As the two brothers discuss burning questions as old as time, their dialogue is natural and realistic.  The story makes no attempt to draw conclusions, and the ending is both depressing and poignant.

Highly Commended:  'The Wolf Who Couldn't' - this is an amusing slant on an old tale, told from the different angle.  A character, who is unmistakable but remains unnamed, forms a bond with the main protagonist, and a very different story emerges.

Section 2

Predictable trends are obvious in these stories.  Very many are written in the first person and centre around family life.  A large number suggest fantasies the authors are imagining for themselves.  Few are actual fictional stories dealing with made up characters and situations.  A strong influence of scenarios featuring horror/monster/superhero/magic can be clearly seen, suggesting authors' imaginations are fuelled by TV and movies.  There is also a strong tendency towards, pain, hopelessness and longing.  Loved ones suffering with cancer feature often.  Spelling is a big concern - there, their and they're; where and were, to and too are frequently confused.  Use of capital letters is often disregarded, eg in the word "I" or for name initials.  Some writers use simply "u" to indicate "you".  Put all that down to computers and text messaging.

Overall, however, much imagination was shown in subject matter and expression of ideas.  After initial reading I established a list of eight, which were re-read to make the final decisions. Points were awarded out of ten from a list of nine separate aspects, covering The Hook, ranging through to Closing.  To create a percentage, I used one further category, Reader Appeal.  This reflected my own enjoyment of each story.

I encourage all the students who entered to practice their craft, keep entering competitions and with experience of life and of story writing, each writer may well become a winner in the future.

First Prize:  'Assassination' - a cleverly constructed crime thriller with deliberately stereotyped characters, a coherent plot structure and humour and irony.  Tom Banks has been under-valued for many years in his job as a financial whiz.  The way he achieves his revenge is ingenious, amusing and distinctly ironic.

Highly Commended:  'Lots of Love' - this title reflects the sign-off written on a series of letters from a girl to her beloved grandfather.  She unburdens a string of events and feelings as a family crisis unfolds.  The story, for that is what these letters describe, flows to a remarkably understated, but poignant conclusion.

Commended:  'Plying With Fire' - an action tale of mysterious beings in a charming woodland setting.  With excellent use of language and dialogue, this story is told almost poetically.  The characters are well-drawn and the fireflies add an amusing touch.