2024 South Perth Young Writers Award winners announced

The winners of the City of South Perth's 38th annual South Perth Young Writers Award (SPYWA) were announced at the South Perth Community Hall on 11 September.

The award, which is open to students from Year 1 to 12, attracted more than 160 entries this year, displaying an impressive level of talent and creativity across all age groups.

Shortlisted entrants attended a workshop with award-winning local author, H.M. Waugh, to develop their writing skills and refine their story before moving to the finalist round. 

SPYWA aims to inspire young people to express their creative ideas through writing and entries are judged across five age categories by a panel of educators, writers and children's literature enthusiasts.

This year, entries covered a diverse range of genres including comedy, fantasy, thriller, adventure, horror, historical and mystery.

The most outstanding entry is awarded the Christobel Mattingley Bronze Medallion, named after award winning children's author and founder of SPYWA.

This year's Christobel Mattingley Bronze Medallion was awarded to Qian-Qian Wong for her entry titled The Funeral, a compelling and powerfully crafted story of fantasy and justice.

Mayor Greg Milner congratulated all entrants and presented the winners with their certificates at the ceremony.

"The South Perth Young Writers Award encourages young writers to explore a wide spectrum of subjects, styles and themes, and this year's winners are evidence of this exploration."

"It is wonderful to see the award, which attracted almost 50 per cent more entries this year, continues to foster a love of reading, creative writing and storytelling amongst young people in our community.

"Local author and 2023 South Perth Children's Literature Champion H.M. Waugh was blown away by the astounding quality of the shortlist, which makes the achievement of the finalists even more commendable."

CHRISTOBEL MATTINGLEY BRONZE MEDALLION WINNER

• Qian-Qian Wong for The Funeral

LOWER PRIMARY, YEAR 1-2

• First place: Vincent Del Burrello
• Second place: Stephan Zhang
• Highly Commended: Phoebe Jew 

MIDDLE PRIMARY, YEAR 3-4

• First place: Cara Sutherland
• Second place: Sakeenah Azizi
• Highly commended: Audrey Wang

UPPER PRIMARY, YEAR 5-6

• First place: Simona Costine
• Second place: Angelique Curtis
• Highly commended: Kayden Law

LOWER SECONDARY, YEAR 7-9

• First place: Angela Zhao
• Second place: Sue Pham
• Highly commended: Jessica Robayna  

UPPER SECONDARY, YEAR 10-12

• First place: Qian-Qian Wong
• Second place: Alyssa Schurmann
• Highly commended: Jade Jones

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