HT Young Writer of the Year

By Victoria McGuin

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When I told Laif Godson-King over the phone that he was this year’s winner of the HT Young Writer of the Year Award, his first response was, “Really? You’re joking? Really?” It took a good minute to convince him!

Laif has entered previous competitions and twice had a ‘special mention’ by the judges, so it was a real pleasure to let him know he finally won!

His style this year was “an experiment”, he said, inspired by recently reading Endurance, by Alfred Lansing, which told the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition. 

Laif said he imagined “a dystopian future, where so much had changed that previous land had once again become uncharted territory”.

The prizes and certificates were presented to Laif, Arya and Sarah in Mooloolah.

Artist/book illustrator, Jim Cox, joined us to present Laif with his personalised illustration for his story.

Laif also received $300 from our anonymous donor, $100 from Outspoken, Maleny, a $100 voucher from Rosetta Books, Maleny, and a $100 voucher from Forest Heart Nursery.

Arya and Sarah both received $100 from The Falls Montville, a $50 voucher from Rosetta Books, Maleny, $50 each from our generous anonymous donor, and an open ticket each for the spring/summer season of ‘Outspoken Presents’.

Our HT judges were once again, blown away by the talent and imagination of so many young writers who sent their stories to us, and some of their comments are below:

“Writing to the theme ‘Never Give Up’, the five finalists chose very different, but convincing approaches to the benefits and outcomes of perseverance. I felt some of these stories presented wisdom well beyond the age of the writer.”

“Good writers paint pictures with words, prising emotional reactions out of the readers and making them feel part of the action. Each of the finalists did that extremely well.

“Good writers also need to discipline their narrative into a relatable structure where both the characters and plot behave consistently, or else risk their work being relegated to a slush pile of disbelief. Again, the finalists succeeded in meeting reader expectations. Each demonstrated that they understood the basic elements of an attention-grabbing opening, the development of tension and conflict, and the satisfying ending of a story.”

“So many of these stories were interesting and immediately engaging! Many had vivid descriptions, and some transported me to another world. There were real and vivid settings and characters, and I was so impressed by the quality of writing, especially by the younger writers – wow.”

“I found it very hard to rate the stories to be honest, they were all so good in their own topic and I'm amazed at the quality considering the writers' ages.”

“Some powerful openings to these stories, and many made me deeply think, which is a very good thing. I like the sense of hope in most of them. I found some extremely moving and compelling, great descriptions, and well-crafted in a short format.”

“The variety of subject matters was a joy to read, and the originality and general sense of hope, or good triumphing, was what we need right now. Saying that, the more dystopian stories were incredibly powerful and thought-provoking. Some very mature writing here, and a real sense of the distinct voices of each writer. I’m so impressed, and it gives me some optimism for the future of HUMAN writing!”