Four young Melville writers scoop Tim Winton Awards

FOUR young Melville wordsmiths beat out more than 1500 entries from all over WA to claim finalists’ berths in the annual Tim Winton Award for Young Writers.

Anika Zammit’s The Un-Basilisk and Sam Meekan’s Market Place won first prize in the middle primary and lower secondary categories respectively.

Isabella Tjandra placed third in the upper primary category for Spots, Bots and Baby Cots and Santa Maria College student Elena Perse was also third in the upper secondary category for Pieces of Time.

The finalists gathered at Subiaco Library last month where they were congratulated by Winton himself, the respected author taking the opportunity to speak about the importance of storytelling to humankind.

“Everything has a story, whether a rock or a tree, and the oldest stories in the world are here,” he said.

“What makes us human is not only telling these stories but also hearing them – we become more human as we hear them.”

The stories were judged by a panel of local authors, educators and librarians who awarded marks for originality of theme, story development and quality of writing.

The finalists’ stories can be read online at www.subiaco.wa.gov.au/timwintonaward

BREAKOUT

Melville Winners – Tim Winton Award for Young Writers

First – Anika Zammit (Mel Maria Catholic Primary School), Middle Primary

First – Sam Meekan (Applecross Senior High School), Upper Secondary

Third – Isabella Tjandra (Winthrop Primary School), Upper Primary

Third – Elena Perse (Santa Maria College), Upper Secondary