Gold Coast Student Clinches Top Honor in Literary Contest

A local Gold Coast student was honoured with an award last night at the Independent Education Union – Queensland and Northern Territory (IEU-QNT) annual Literary Competition presentation.

Felicity Williams from All Saints Anglican School at Merrimac topped the Year 11 and 12 non-fiction prose category with her submission, titled “To the frogs in my garden”.

Jeffrey Lewis, who judged the senior non-fiction entries said Felicity’s winning entry was an arresting piece of memoir writing.

“It uses particular circumstances to explore general themes of safety, security and belonging,” Mr Lewis said.

“Felicity established a powerful sense of place and manipulates rhythm in the writing to great effect.

“Amongst an array of capable pieces of literary analysis and critique, Felicity’s piece stood out for its poignancy and its craft,” he said.

The Literary Competition was established by the IEU-QNT’s antecedent union in 1959 to encourage literary development and freedom of expression in young people.

Over 900 submissions of poetry, short stories and non-fiction prose were entered into the 2023 event, which is run in conjunction with the English Teachers’ Association of Queensland (ETAQ).

Now in its 64^th year, the Literary Competition remains the longest continuing writing competition in Queensland and is open to students and staff in both state and non-government schools.

IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said the Literary Competition was a great opportunity for students to hone their writing skills and creativity.

“The Literary Competition judges were impressed with the exceptional talent on display this year, with a diverse range of entries submitted from across the state,” Mr Burke said.

“I congratulate those outstanding writers who were awarded prizes and thank all those who entered the 2023 Literary Competition,” he said.

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