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Nan Manefield Writers' Award
2024 marks 35 years of Stanton Library and North Sydney Council celebrating the writing talent of young people in our community with our annual Young Writers' Award since 1989.
Young people aged 11 to 18 years old are invited to submit either one poem or one short story not exceeding 750 words for the Nan Manefield Young Writers’ Award.
Online submission form will close on Sunday 14 April 2024.
Meet the Judges
Erin Gough
The author of two fiction books for young adults: The Flywheel, which won the Ampersand Prize, and Amelia Westlake, winner of the Readings Young Adult Book Prize and the NSW Premier’s Ethel Turner Prize for Young Adult Fiction. Her third novel for young adults, Into the Mouth of the Wolf, will be published in May 2024.
Helena Fox
She lives by the sea in Wollongong, Australia, where she runs creative writing workshops for young people. She’s a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. Helena has traveled and lived all around the world, but of all her adventures, working with young ypeople and helping them find and express their voice has brought her the greatest joy. How It Feels to Float is her debut novel.
Jaclyn Moriarty
Internationally best-selling author of novels for children, young adults and sometimes slightly older adults, including the books in the Kingdoms and Empires series. Her books have won the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award, the Aurealis Award and other prizes, been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and the Nebula Prize.
Will Kostakis
A writer of all things, from celebrity news stories, to cease and desist letters, to tweets for professional wrestlers. He’s best known for his award-winning YA novels, The Sidekicks and The First Third. He was a teenager when his first novel, Loathing Lola, was published. His latest novel series, Monuments, has been shortlisted in the 2020 Indie Book Awards.
Sue Whiting
Acclaimed children’s and young adult author, and editor with over twenty years of experience. She is the author of the bestselling book Missing and the award-winning A Swim in the Sea. The Book of Chance was shortlisted for the 2021 CBCA Book of the Year Awards and Highly Commended in the 2021 Davitt Awards.
2023 Award Winners
Thank you to all of the young writers who entered into our 2023 Nan Manefield Young Writer's Award!
Below are all the winning entries from each age category, including winners, highly commended and commended.
16-18 years
Winner: Ethan Li - Moving Home
Highly Commended: Amadea Luong - The Sparrow Reborn
Commended: Cameron Masters - Inner Demons
15 years
Winner: Andy Elias - Reflections of Virgina E. Clemm
Highly Commended: Oliver Macalister - I am AI 217
Commended: Angelina Mei - Desperate
14 years
Winner: Catherine Grice - Bak Skylene
Highly Commended: Jimin Jeon - Untitled
Commended: Adrita Saha - Afterglow
13 years
Winner: Anthony Li - Instant Noodles
Highly Commended: Amelie Elias - What a View
Commended: Thehashi Upsara Gunawardene - Between Two Skies
11-12 years
Winner: Angus Koch - Dewdrops
Highly Commended: Chloe Lu - Beyond the Looking Glass
Commended: Elaine Chen - The Cup of Tea