What's Your Story? Writing Competition

WYS 2024 event.jpg

1 June – 31 July 2024

We’re delighted to announce the winners of this year’s What’s Your Story? Writing Competition. And the winners are…

Gayle Beveridge, winner of the Short Story (Adult) category, for the story The Road to Grey(PDF, 143KB)

Sarah M, winner of the Poetry (Adult) category, for the poem Carlton Baths(PDF, 21KB)

Celeste M, winner of the Creative Writing 13 to 17 years category, for the story Clockwork(PDF, 48KB)

Rebecca K, winner of the Creative Writing 9 to 12 years category, for the story Fear(PDF, 51KB)

Evie S, winner of the Creative Writing 5 to 8 years category, for the story Dream Changer(PDF, 101KB)

The competition attracted close to 200 entries, proving the competition’s popularity and enthusiasm among our community’s bright and up-and-coming writers.

Well done to all our competition entrants and congratulations to this year’s winners.

About the competition

‘What’s Your Story?’ is an annual writing competition presented by Stonnington Libraries.  The competition celebrates creative writing and storytelling within our community.

Prizes are awarded for Short Story and Poetry in the adult categories, and Creating Writing in the youth categories. Works can be fiction or non-fiction, based on any theme, but must be original and previously unpublished.

To enter the short story and poetry categories you need to be 18 years and older and living in Victoria, while young people aged 5 to 17 years, who live, go to school or work in Stonnington, are invited to enter one of three creative writing categories. You can enter more than one category, however there is a maximum of one entry per category.

For more information please read the What's Your Story? Writing Competition Terms and Conditions(PDF, 369KB).

Categories and prizes

  • Theme: Open
  • Entry fee: Free

Short story - Adult

  • For: Anyone over the age of 18 years
  • Guidelines: 1000 word limit.
  • Prize: $500

Poetry – Adult

  • For: Anyone over the age of 18 years
  • Guidelines: Maximum 40 lines
  • Prize: $500.

Creative writing – 5 to 8 years old

  • For: Young people aged 5 to 8 years who live or go to school in Stonnington
  • Guidelines: 300 to 500 word limit.  The entry can be fiction or inspired by real events experienced by the author
  • Prize: $100 book voucher

Creative writing – 9 to 12 years old

  • For: Young people aged 9 to 12 years who live or go to school in Stonnington
  • Guidelines: 500 to 750 word limit.  The entry can be fiction or inspired by real events experienced by the author
  • Prize: $200 book voucher

Creative writing – 13 to 17 years old

  • For: Young people aged 13 to 17 years who live, work or go to school in Stonnington
  • Guidelines: 750 to 900 word limit.  The entry can be fiction or inspired by real events experienced by the author
  • Prize: $300 book voucher

 

Previous Winners

2023 Winners

Meet the winners of the 2023 What’s Your Story? Writing competition.

Short story - Adult

2023: Poppy W for A Void(PDF, 110KB)

Poetry – Adult

2023: Jessica S for Hustle(PDF, 74KB)

Creative writing - 5 to 8 years old

2023: Grace M for Moonstone: The last piece(PDF, 144KB) 

Creative writing -  9 to 12 years old

2023: Awit R for The Flower(PDF, 7MB)

Creative writing - 13 to 17 years old

2023: Poppy H for The Bad Place(PDF, 83KB)