National Cherry Festival Writing Competition winners

The organisers were overwhelmed with the number of entries this year, in particular, the number of entries from schools both local and all across the country who participated.

It was yet another record breaking year for the competition with well over 200 entries in the children's section and well over 500 entries in the adult's sections.

With the Lambing Flat Fellowship of Australian Writers getting ready to celebrate its 40^th year next year the future of writing in the area is definitely looking bright.

The group wished to thank all of the writers as well as the Hilltops Library in Young which is the group's home base. The Library not only hosts the group, they also helped to get the word out about the competition as well as handed out entry forms to locals.

WINNERS:

ADULT SHORT STORY SECTION: 1^st Specs O'Mullane - David Dodd Sapphire Beach NSW, 2^nd Lapses - Helen Nourse Rivett ACT, 3^rd The Blue Peter - David Dodd Sapphire Beach NSW. Highly Commended: The Lower Leg Amputee - Jan Sampson Scott, Flashbacks - Hermione Browning, A Friend Called Ducko - Toni Risson. Commended: Red Lamp -Janice Williams, Memories of a Young Nurse - Judith Neville, Charlie's Blind Date - Sheila Drakeley, It was my First Roast and I'll Cry if I want to - Vicki Le Plastrier.

ADULT POETRY SECTION: 1^st Silver Shoes on Silver Sand - Janice Williams Stawell Vic, Collective Memory - Shaine Melrose Hawthorndene SA, Rural Wife - Brenda Joy Charters Towers QLD. Highly Commended: Therme Vals, Daybreak - David Terelinck, Rehearsing Your Exit - Colin Campbell, Toilers - Elizabeth Keenan. Commended: Memo From the Hills - Robyn Sykes, Best Laid Plans - Robyn Sykes, Once a Swaggie - Jim Kent. Judges Award: The Wait - Ian Evans, Flight - Butterfly - Lance Robert Bowden, Who Are You - Elena Baird.

SECONDARY SCHOOL POETRY Y10-12: 1^st Tree of Knowledge - Lucy Lamb Young NSW, 2^nd Alone - Zita Baldini Eugenana TAS.

SECONDARY SCHOOL SHORT STORY Y10-12: 1^st Lemonade and Alphabet Blocks - Lily Sharrock Young NSW, 2^nd Fireside Chat - Alana Ducksbury Harden NSW, Highly Commended: Now - Maddison Teys Harden NSW.

SECONDARY SCHOOL POETRY Y7-9: 1^st Forest - Kate Nicholas Edgar Taralgon East VIC, 2^nd My Green Country - Phoebe Gati Bunyip VIC, Highly Commended: Mystic Land - Devmika Bogahapitiya Cranbourne West VIC.

SECONDARY SCHOOL SHORT STORY Y7-9: 1^st Wacko Wombat - Eleni Chapman Ascot WA, 2^nd Guardian - vani Aneej Ashfield NSW, Highly Commended Blood Ties - Nemi De Silva Lucia QLD.

PRIMARY SCHOOL POETRY Y4-6: 1^st Life Then, Life Now, Life to Come - Tasha Huang Travancore VIC, 2^nd Christmas - Siana Staggs Carindale QLD, Commended Dreaming - Gwendolyn Corkery Young NSW.

PRIMARY SCHOOL SHORT STORY Y4-6: 1^st The Storm Spirit - Jenna Duncan Fairfield QLD, 2^nd The Magic Swan - Lucia Stephens Fyansford VIC, Highly Commended: Truthful Heir - Syon Guruprasad Hughesdale VIC, The Op Shop Treasure - Ruby Holt Young NSW, The Big Bush Fire - Lane Shoemark Maimuru NSW. Commended: Gumtrees - Harriet Peters Kingshott, The Sweet Lesson - Vinudi Bogahapitiya, New Life in a New World - Methuki Bogahapitiya.

JUNIOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS SECTION POETRY Y1-3: 1^st My Best Friend - Lachlan Holt Young Public School, 2^nd Jaguar - Lucas Hansen Young Public School, 3^rd My Bunny Boris - Chelsea Dwyer Wagga Wagga NSW, Highly Commended Bunnies - Cady Lindeman Young Public School.

JUNIOR PRIMARY SHORT STORY Y1-3: 1^st Campfire - Mirrabelle Corkery Young NSW, 2^nd How I Turned into a Girl - Mikhail Fedotov Mt Lawley WA, Highly Commended: The Drought - Poppy Dougherty, A Strange Human - Thomas Powell, Commended: Kayla's Secret - Amelia Acton, COVID Chaos - Ruby Lucas Harden NSW.

SPECIAL SECTION FOR KINDERGARTEN AWARDS: 1^st Baby Seal - Gabriel Corkery Wombat Public School, 2^nd Dad's House - Kobie Stockton Wombat Public School, Highly Commended: Seal - Rhaegar Bloor Wombat Public School.

From the judges: What is the purpose of writing? Essentially it is to inform, entertain or persuade the reader. The element of 'entertainment' can be addressed with clever, macabre or tangled storylines, or as well-told, simple themes.

Be careful not to bore or dissuade the reader from continuing by the use of cumbersome or ongoing use of overly unnecessary complex text.

We all relise that the school year is very busy, and towards the end of the year, there isn't much time to spare to enter a writing competition. Many of the entries seemed to be done as a class excercise, which we realise is the way stories and poems are created. However, the judges were sad to see quite a few were themes around old nursery tales or all on the same subjects, which made judging repetitious and disappointing.

Where the students were given their freedom to create stories and poems the results were very creative and entertaining. Children have very vast imaginations and some of the subjects that they covered led to funny and sometimes incisive results.

From the coordinator: Thank you to the teachers and parents who encouraged the students to enter. They came from distant parts and all states and territories of Australia, as did local schools who supported our competition. All told, we had 225 entries in the school section and the adult sections there were 545 entries which broke last year's record.

We hope to see you all again next year, and as it will be our 40 year celebration of the Lambing Flat Fellowship of Australian Writers regional, we are planning a big year.

Keep on writing and creating stories and poems. We provide a place to send them and we assure you, we love to see what you are creating.

Once again, thanks to Ted Webber whose persistent hard work continues to expand the reach of the competition.

To all the writers who made time to enter thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm.