Write Around the Murray: River of Stories competition showcases young talent

Young writers were recognised at the annual River of Stories competition, run by Rotary Club of Albury Hume, on Saturday, September 16.

The event, part of the five-day Write Around the Murray festival, for students in years 3 to 12 was in its 20th year and attracted more than 300 entries from 30 schools.

Co-ordinator and local author Barry Young said he was overwhelmed as he watched approximately 150 people fill the Albury LibraryMuseum foyer for the event.

"The quality of the writing was so good that one of the judges said we had to award extra prizes," he said.

"So we gave nine encouragement awards as well - that's how good the writing was."

Mr Young started the event in 2003 to combat the declining interest in literature among students.

"I could see that kids weren't writing or reading any more, they were all into their text messages and computer games, and they weren't writing, so I decided something like this was needed," he said.

"And now it is needed even more so, given the articles you read about the reading and writing level in our schools dropping at an alarming rate."

On the day, 66 prizes were handed out to students who showed excellence in short story writing and poetry.

Albury LibraryMuseum team leader Carina Clement said it was among the best turnouts for the event she's ever seen.

"It's fantastic to see the joy on the faces of the children when they get their prizes, and to have their parents and grandparents there as well, makes it a special occasion," she said.

Ms Clement said it was fascinating to see the variety of stories in each age group.

"The winning story from years 3-4 was called The Boy's Motorbike Day by Cooper from Scots, but then as you read the older students stories in years 11 and 12, you find they turn quite existential," she said.

"So it was interesting to see how the students' minds and stories changed as they grew up."

In the poetry competition, Nirvana Lohani from Victory Lutheran College took home first prize in the year 3-4 division, Charlie Cook and Lucy Wilson from Trinity Anglican College were the join winners in the year 5-6 category, Rachel Wyer from Murray High School won the year 7-8 prize, Charlie Pinard from Catholic College Wodonga won year 9-10, and Lylah Ellao from The Scots School Albury won the year 11-12 competition.

In the short story competition, Aurora Pike from Trinity Anglican College and Cooper Ceeney from The Scots School Albury shared the year 3-4 category, Patrick Clancy from St Patrick's Parish School won the year 5-6 prize, Caitlin Talbot took out the year 7-8 division, Taylor Spalding from Victory Lutheran College won the year 9-10 prize, and Ruby Kane from Albury High School claimed the year 11-12 award.

On Sunday, September 17, Write Around the Murray wrapped up for another year with several sold-out events, including 'Killing It', a talk with The Age literary editor Jason Steger and local crime authors Margaret Hickey and Shelley Burr.

Throughout the five-day festival, approximately 4000 people attended.

"We're really pleased that it has been such a success," Ms Clement said.

"We've had probably 25 to 30 presenters across 50 events, and it's just been a great vibe and fun for all."

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