The organisers of a Border writing festival have been impressed by the quality of work produced by the young entrants.
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More than 100 people attended the Albury LibraryMuseum on Saturday as part of the River of Stories event.
Organiser Barry Young launched the program 16 years ago in a bid to get children engaged with reading and writing.
Participants create short stories with prizes for the best entries.
There were nearly 500 entrants from primary and secondary schools students this year, with the entrants coming from within a 150 kilometre radius of Albury.
"I started the event because there were all these young people who were into these computer games and text messages," Mr Young said.
"The writing was suffering.
"I saw a need for this and the Rotary Club of Albury-Hume supported me to run a writing competition."
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The participants covered a wide range of topics in their entries.
Mr Young said there weren't any restrictions on the topics that could be covered.
Older entrants write short stories up to 1500 words, while primary school students can write up to 500 words.
It was the first time primary school students could enter.
"The quality has been fantastic this year," Mr Young said.
"Every year is really good but this year has been exceptional."
Prizes included cheques of $500 for four school libraries, book vouchers and accounts with Hume Bank.
The event is part of Write Around the Murray, which finished on Sunday.
Guests included Jane Caro, Arnold Zable and Toni Jordan, and also featured a poetry slam, schools program, exhibitions, workshops and author talks.
Mr Young - who has himself written seven novels and two text books - said it was important for young people to engage with writing.
"It's just been a wonderful exercise for our Border youth," he said.
"The English departments have been excellent at the schools.
"They're very supportive.
"Our English teachers do a wonderful job on the Border."
The young writers' parents and school teachers also attended the event at the weekend.
"All in all it was an outstanding event," Mr Young said.