WestWords and WestLit Libraries are excited to launch the 2024
Living Stories Western Sydney
Writing Prize!
The theme for this year’s writing competition is …
Over the line … ?
Sometimes an argument goes too far.
A thing that’s been said can’t be taken back.
Does the line divide, Or keep you safe?
Do you regret crossing it?
Or are you brave enough to step over The chalk line on the ground
Or climb the fence between places
Or countries.
Announcing the Overall Highly Commended and Winning Writers of the 2024 Living Stories Western Sydney Writing Prize: Over the Line …?
On July 19th, our patron Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC Governor, and the wonderful Mr Dennis Wilson, launched Over the Line …? at PHIVE. Ft. Michael Campbell, Executive Director and Publishing Director of WestWords, WestWords Chair Vivienne Skinner, and representing the City of Parramatta, Cr Cameron MacLean, who welcomed us to Parramatta.
Zainab Yassine, reading “Coming down” her 2023 winning poem from Canterbury-Bankstown 16-18yrs.
Representing WestLit Libraries, Margaret Redrup-May presents the 10-12yrs Overall Highly Commended to Niya DCunha from Campbelltown City.
Representing WestLit Libraries, Margaret Redrup-May presents the 10-12yrs Overall Winner to Pippa Mann from City of Parramatta.
Absent: Sienna Rose Chouman from Liverpool City announced as the Overall Highly Commended for 13-15yrs.
Representing Arab Bank Australia, Dr Joseph Rizk AM presents the 13-15yrs Overall Winners to Shamaila Faisal from Blacktown City.
Representing Australian Catholic University, Dr Valentine Mukuria presents the 16-18yrs Overall Highly Commended to Mia Gardiner from Wingecarribee Shire.
Representing Australian Catholic University, Dr Valentine Mukuria presents the 16-18yrs Overall Winner to Tanishkaa Ramesh from The Hills Shire.
Thanks to the generous support of Arab Bank Australia, this year Living Stories were able to award two highly commended results in the adult category.
WestWords patron Mr Dennis Wilson presents the Overall Highly Commended in the adult category to Tyswan Slater from the Blue Mountains, and to Marcus Bombardiere from Camden Council.
WestWords patron Mr Dennis Wilson presents the Overall Winner in the Adult category to J. Marahuyo from Cumberland Council.
Overall winner of the adult category for the 2024 Living Stories Writing Prize: Over the Line …?
J. Marahuyo’s poem “whisper thank you to their king-sized bed for not swallowing them;” performed by renowned poet ali whitelock.
Congratulations to all the featured writers in the Over the Line … ? anthology.
You can purchase copies of the anthology here
Thank you to our first round judges who read approx. 400 entries, and awarded the winning, highly commended and special mention awards. We thank them for their time, expertise, and careful deliberation for the 2024 Living Stories competition.
Shakira Piggot, Lisa Chaplin, Anna Walsh, Anna Feldman, Alle Lloyd, Kate Barratt, Freya Petterson, Sharon Baldwin, K.T. Major, Ruth Larner, Elizabeth Walton, Libby Hyett, Luke Kains, Saurav Shrestha, Kennedy Estephan, Isabelle Quilty, Ally Burnham, Prameeta Lingam, Lisa Agostino , Nancy Castillon, Ben Lee, Elle McDiarmid, Stephanie Cooper, Gabi Cundy, Therese Baldwin, Lisa Pigna, Bethany Evans, Bess Gilmore, Isabella De Horta, Maggie Walsh and Marijke Morse.
Announcing the Highly Commended Writers from each LGA
These highly commended junior writers will receive $50 and publication of their work in the 2024 Living Stories anthology: Over the line …?
The highly commended writer of the adult category will receive $100 and publication of their work in the 2024 Living Stories anthology: Over the line …?
Congratulations to the highly commended writers!
Announcing the Winning Writers from each LGA
These winning junior writers will receive $100 and publication of their work in the 2024 Living Stories anthology: Over the line …? Their entries will also go on to compete for Overall Winner in the final round of judging!
The winning writer of the adult category will receive $200 and publication of their work in the 2024 Living Stories anthology: Over the line …? Their entry will also go on to compete for Overall Winner in the final round of judging!
Congratulations to the Winning writers!
The 2024 Living Stories Showcase
On August 3rd, we welcomed over 262 people through our doors at the WestWords Centre for Writing, for our Living Stories Over the Line …? publication showcase event!
There is no other event on our calendar quite like it — as we invite all the featured writers onto our stage to celebrate and read their award-winning short stories and poems in front of their friends and family. The award-winners come from all across Western Syndey — and as far south as Wingecarribee — to celebrate this day. Readers ranged from ages 10 to adults, featuring experienced performers and first-time readers alike, up on the same stage.
The joy in the room was infectious, the photos below capture only a small portion of so many wonderful moments. Congratulations all on your strength of creativity, voice and diverse perspectives.
We’d like to thank our partners, WestLit Libraries, Create NSW, Arab Bank Australia, and Australian Catholic University for making this program possible.
The Living Stories Western Sydney Writing Prize is now closed for entries.
And Living Stories has closed! Thank you to all the writers and poets who submitted their interpretations of ‘Over the line …?’
Congratulations to Blacktown City Council for receiving the most entries into the comp for the fourth year running! Thank you to all the participating WestLit libraries for encouraging their local communities to enter.
Living Stories 2024
There are two parts to Living Stories:
- The Short Story and Poetry Writing Prize
- The free creative writing workshops hosted in libraries across Western Sydney, in partnership with WestLit Libraries
Scroll below to find more information on both the competition and the workshops!
Living Stories 2024 – The Competition
The Living Stories Western Sydney Writing Prize is a creative writing competition for residents of Western Sydney, and Wingecarribee Shire, which is home to over 2.5 million Australians originating from 180 countries, speaking almost 100 different languages, and residing in 14 local government areas. Living Stories is a WestWords, WestLit Libraries initiative. This project is proudly supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
Living Stories is your opportunity to share your story.
If you are aged 10 years or older, and live in 1 of the 14 competing Western Sydney LGAs, we want your piece of writing responding to the theme
Over the line … ?
There are two rounds of judging. In round one, your poem, story or personal essay (500 words maximum) will be judged by panels drawn from your local community. Winners and highly commendeds will be selected from each age group. These results will be announced online in June, 2024.
In the second round, the winners from each LGA will go to the next round of judging to vie for the overall prize. These results will be announced in person at the Living Stories ceremony and book anthology launch in July 2024.
The writing prize age categories are as follows:
10 – 12 years;
13 – 15 years;
16 – 18 years;
and adults (18+).
Competition Dates
Competition Opens: 22 March, 2024.
Competition closes: 6 May, midnight, 2024
Announcement of LGA winners: Early June – via online announcement (WestWords social media and newsletter)
Announcement of Overall Winners and book launch: end of July school holidays at PHIVE Parramatta. This is an RSVP’d event.
The four winners, and four highly commended entrants, from each competing LGA will have their short story/poem published in the 2024 Living Stories Anthology: Over the line …?
The four winners, and four highly commended entrants, from each competing LGA will receive a cash prize. Prize pool to be announced on the competition launch date.
These cash prizes are made possible thanks to the generous support of our 2024 partners: Create NSW, Arab Bank Australia, and Australian Catholic University.
The Ts&Cs
- Entry is free
- Entries are limited to one per person
- All entries MUST be submitted digitally via our online form.
- To be eligible, entrants must reside within one of the following local government areas:
- Blacktown City
- Blue Mountains City
- Camden Council
- Campbelltown City
- Cumberland Council
- Fairfield City
- The city of Canterbury-Bankstown
- Hawkesbury City
- Liverpool City
- The city of Parramatta
- Penrith City
- The Hills Shire
- Wingecarribee Shire
- Wollondilly Shire
- Entries must be written primarily in English, and may be in the form of a short story, poem or essay, and must not exceed 500 words in length.
- Entries must creatively engage to the theme: Over the line …?
- Work must be original, unpublished and solely authored by the applicant.
- Authors maintain creative, copy and moral rights to their work, but grant WestWords permission to publish the work in the 2024 Living Stories: Over the line …? Anthology if they are an LGA winner or highly commended entrant.
- All LGA winners and highly commended entrants will receive (1) free copy of the 2024 Living Stories: Over the line …? Anthology.
- The applicant’s name must not appear on the entry file.
- Entries will be judged on:
- Originality and creativity
- Construction and use of language
- Engagement with the theme
Living Stories 2024 – The Workshops
In conjunction with the prize, WestWords will run free writing workshops across Western Sydney’s libraries, and online, during the April school holidays, 2024.
Attend a free 90-minute creative writing workshop hosted by a local professional writer to help improve your craft in short story and poetry. These workshops will also help you generate ideas to create an entry piece of writing for the Living Stories Writing Prize.
Keep scrolling: information on the workshops will appear below throughout March. Please see the list of our partner libraries for Living Stories, and keep an eye out for workshops as they are announced to be able to RSVP.
Blacktown City
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
Blue Mountains City
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Camden Council
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Campbelltown City
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
Cumberland Council
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
Fairfield City
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
The City of Canterbury-Bankstown
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
Hawkesbury City
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
Liverpool City
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
The City of Parramatta
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
Penrith City
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The Hills Shire
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
Wingecarribee
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
Wollondilly Shire
Click on the image below to RSVP to the creative writing workshop
History of Living Stories
The Living Stories Western Sydney Writing Prize is a creative writing competition for residents of Western Sydney, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly Shire, which is home to over 2.5 million Australians originating from 180 countries, speaking almost 100 different languages, and residing in 14 local government areas.
The competition began in 2021 with assistance from NSW Government as part of its support to the Arts sector recovering from the first year of the COVID pandemic and presented in conjunction with WestLit Libraries, an association of library services from across the region. The competition was the first of its kind for Western Sydney. We were also grateful for support from Australian Catholic University who were the category sponsor for the 16-18 year old category.
The thematic prompt for the competition was in 2021 was Are We Here Yet? To assist the writers we offered in excess of 40 free workshops in libraries across Western Sydney and online. There are winner and highly commended entries awarded in each age category in each participating LGA. The winners then go onto a second round of judging to determine over all winners and highly commended stories and poems. All the 67 regional winners and highly commended work get published in an anthology. In 2021 the book was to be launched at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre by our patrons Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC, Governor of NSW and Mr Dennis Wilson but that was the first day of the extended lockdown that characterised life in Western Sydney in the second half of that year. Instead the launch was held virtually in a lovely ceremony when such things were relatively novel.
In 2022, with no dedicated COVID recovery funds from Government we felt that a grassroots writing competition to provide a platform and visibility for the voices in Western Sydney was important. This year the prompt was things unsaid. In 2022 we welcomed Booktopia as the category sponsor for the 10-12 year old category joining Australian Catholic University. In 2023 we were excited that James Kirby Foundation partnered with us. A competition of this size is not an insignificant undertaking and we sincerely thank all our partners, library staff, writers and contributors for their contributions.
We see the competition contributes to the central mission of WestWords to provide pathways and opportunities for the stories of Western Sydney to be celebrated and heard. Click on the icons below for more information, to read and enjoy the work emanating from this richly diverse part of Australia.
Past Winners and Publications
Previous Digital Workshops – view online
Bryan Brown Reading from Living Stories: The Other City
We are grateful to WestWords ambassador, Bryan Brown, for taking the time to share his reading of one of the overall winning pieces in the 'Living Stories: The Other City' anthology.
WestWords Living Stories Online Creative Writing Workshop for Adults
Michelle Hamadache, Director of Creative Writing at Macquarie University, will help you out with ideas, techniques and inspiration to assist you in getting a poem or short story written in time to submit into the Living Stories competition.
WestWords Living Stories Online Creative Writing Workshop for 16-18yr olds
Adam Byatt takes young writers through some tips and tools of the trade in this online writing workshop, aimed at 16 to 18 year olds.
WestWords Living Stories Online Creative Writing Workshop for 13-15yr olds
Join Kim Pham as she runs 13 to 15yr olds through a hands-on Living Stories Online Creative Writing Workshop to help them develop a short story or poem on the theme of 'the other city' in real time.
WestWords Living Stories Online Creative Writing Workshop for 10-12yr olds
In a Living Stories Online Creative Writing Workshop, Liz Ledden helps 10 to 12yr olds brainstorm place, characters and plot, as well as utilise mindmaps to assist in the creation of a story or poem.
Living Stories Western Sydney Writing Prize 2021 – announcement of winners and book launch
"The WestWords/WestLit "Living Stories" Western Sydney Writing Prize took place over all thirteen local government areas in Western Sydney, with one winner and one highly commended entry for each of the four age categories -- 10-12yrs, 13-15yrs, 16-18yrs, and 18+....
Writing Workshop with Rawah Arja, 13-15 yrs
Writing Workshop with Scot Gardner, 16-18 yrs
Poetry Workshop with Harry Laing, 10-16 yrs
Writing Workshop with Luke Johnson, 18+ yrs
