Seagulls, a kidney transplant, brussel sprouts and a life-saving dog all feature in the wildly imaginative stories that won the hearts and minds of our judges in the 2012 annual Barfoot & Thompson Young Authors Challenge.
We had an overwhelming number of entries this year exceeding 340 stories from 98 schools. That is more than double the number of stories received in 2011.
Seven short stories have been chosen as the winners and from here Keven Mealamu will begin working on the illustrations. Well-known children’s author John Parker will run workshops to help polish the winning stories for publication.
Congratulations to the following winners:
Supreme winner Gulls’ Bay by 10-year-old Holly Fisher from Remuera Primary will feature on the cover of the book and be accompanied by six other tales, including:
- Bayfield Primary School, Gifted and Talented Writers Group – Rangi and Sephira
- Northcross Intermediate, Emelie Fitness – An Unnamed Friend
- Northern Health School, Ronald McDonald House Class – Daily Miracles at RMH
- Pukekohe Intermediate, Room 43 – Rumour Has It
- Somerville Intermediate, Room 19 – Don’t Eat the Bacon
- Don Buck School, Isabelle Cooper – Slow Joe and Fast Freddy
Peter Thompson, Managing Director, and part of the judging panel, said the winning students can be very proud of themselves. “This year’s judging was particularly tough. We received twice as many entries than ever before and because of this the standard of writing was extremely high. It’s really exciting to see the students’ creativity and skill, and their growing love for reading and writing is evident in the work they produce.”
This is now our fifth year of running the competition and once again has proved to be very popular. Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support throughout the process. We really appreciate it and it is such a fun project to be a part of.
The past four story books have helped raise $105,000 for the Starship Foundation and we are hoping this year’s book will be even bigger and better than the previous ones.