Congratulations Brittany Doolan
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THE NORMAN MCVICKER LITERARY AWARDS 2018…..JUDGES’ REPORT.
To all present and future contestants—-please read the following comments as constructive criticism. They are meant to support your efforts to submit worthy entries into written competitions.
- ADHERE to CRITERIA as stated on information and entry forms, otherwise your work won’t be received by the judges. Word counts, double spacing, one side of paper, page numbers, no indication of Author’s name, titles etc mean what they say and cannot be ignored when preparing your entry.
- A competition such as this is not for first drafts. You need to proof read and edit thoroughly with help of teachers or someone who can assist, until your work is ready for publication. Judges need to be impressed by your desire to win. Errors in Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Structure and “typo’s” lose marks and detract from the appeal of the presentation of your work. Polish your gem until it shines brighter than the rest. A prestigious competition such as this one where thousands of dollars are on offer, demands quality of technical structure and content if it is to be competitive.
The winning story was a standout for each judge, being so well crafted with exceptional imagery such as “ a forgotten memory dredged its way up from the fathoms of my subconscious” and “unread papers still rolled tight, fought for space amidst discarded rubbish”. It was readily apparent that the author is a gifted writer, able to tell a moving story with control of language, free of faults throughout. Congratulations to Number 19, “Two Sides to Every Coin”.
We awarded First, Second, Third places, 2x Highly Commended and 2x Commended from the 61 entries.
The Poetry section had fewer entries and seemed to be the more difficult genre to handle. Traditional Rhyme is easy to read but challenging to write as it needs an understanding and control of rhythm through the cadence achieved with soft/hard syllable count and consistent structure of each verse. Free verse also needs to show control and flow of lines in a meaningful, connected work. It is not an opportunity to contrive language or abandon standards and hope the reader gets the message. Crudity and/or plagiarism are not acceptable.
The winning poem is still a work in progress and hopefully the writer will revisit it in time to improve the structure.
Congratulations to Number 17, “My Home”. We awarded First, Second, Third places, 1x Highly Commended and 3x Commended from the 38 entries.
Thank you to all entrants. Keep writing and striving for a judge’s recognition of excellence.
2018 Norman McVicker Youth Literary Award Results
Winning entries Prose Section
1st
Brittany Doolan, Coonabarabran
Two Sides to Every Coin
2nd
Yehezq’El Schuster , Gin Gin
Battle of the Innocent
3rd
Kodi Sawtell , Coochin
Her Name is Hope
Highly Commended
Tessa Quinlan, West Wodonga
Loyalty Above All
Grace Wallin, Kallangur
I Will Ride
Commended
Alexa Trochatos, Lenah Valley
Weaving Life
Cassandra Nguyen, Hinchinbrook
The King
Winning entries Poetry Section
1st
Brittany Doolan, Coonabarabran
My Home
2nd
Rachel Goodwin, Thurgoona
Tall Bluey
3rd
Grace Matthews, Banora Point
A Memoir of a Stolen Boy
Highly Commended
Bailey Keay, Kingscliff
The Rebellion
Commended
Elsa Beinssen-Henry , West Hobart
Christmas Cards
Levi Siu, Carlingford
Titanic
Emma Reitano, Innisfail
A World Depicted in a Bird’s Eye
2018 free writing workshop at Kanandah
NSW Senior’s Card and the Fellowship of Australian Writers are bringing a free writing workshop to Mudgee on Saturday 31st March from 10am to 12 md.
Venue is Kanandah Retirement Village and the Presenter is Cate Plink from Sydney. Members of Mudgee Valley Writers will be in attendance to assist new writers.
The workshop is to prepare seniors to enter the 2018 Senior’s Short Story Competition. The prize is publication of the best 100 stories in a book on the theme Positive Ageing.
Everyone has a story and if you are interested in learning how to tell yours please come along.
RSVP by Thursday 29th March to 6372 0743 or mvw.nsw@gmail.com
AGM
Mudgee Valley Writers AGM will be held at Club Mudgee on Tuesday 13th March 2018 from 12md
