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Living Stories Writing Competition and Workshops

Hey, are you a keen writer living in Western Sydney? Do you have something to say, or a story to tell? Would you like to see your name and words in print, and maybe even win some cash?

Who wouldn’t? And that’s why WestWords is announcing the Living Stories Western Sydney Writing Prize, and the good news is that if you are aged 10 or over, and you live in Western Sydney, you can enter!

Here’s how it works… You write up to 500 words about the following phrase — ARE WE HERE YET? You might like to think about what your community is like, or the journey your family has taken and the changes you’ve seen, or even the way things have changed over the last 250 years. Or perhaps you could think about the way things might be in the future. It’s totally up to you, as long as it relates in some way to ARE WE HERE YET?.

When you’ve written your piece (it might be a story, an essay, even a poem) edit it and send it in by going to www.westwords.com.au/living-stories. You can find all the details on that page, including closing dates, prizes, and everything else you need to know.

Oh, and how will it be judged? There are four categories — 10-12yrs, 13-15yrs, 16-18yrs, and 18+/adult. Your entry will be judged in your age category in your local area. So for instance, if you live in Blacktown, all the entries from the Blacktown area will be judged along with yours, and a winner and a highly-commended will be named in each category in your area. Then all the winners from all the categories in all the local areas are sent to another judging panel to choose the overall winners for Western Sydney. And one of those winners could be you!

So have a think about the theme, and keep an eye out for the free WestWords writing workshops in your local area — that’s a good place to learn some tips and tricks that will make your writing really stand out.

We have workshops to assist both in person and online. See below for links to both!

Creative Writing 8-13 yrs with Alexa Moses

Creative Writing 8-13 yrs with Jack Heath

If you have any questions after you’ve been to the Living Stories page on the WestWords website, you can have chat with your local public library staff, you can email admin@westwords.com.au, or you can even call 1800 WESTWORDS.

After School Creative Writing

Like creative writing? Every week during the school terms join us for creative writing classes just for you. You will learn how to how to find and nurture your ideas and gain the skills to turn them into great stories. From how to form characters, to descriptive language and world building — you will learn it all.

Where?
Now on zoom!

When?
Upper primary (yrs 4-6) 1hr: Mondays 4:00-5:00
Junior high (yrs 7-9) 1hr: Mondays 5:00-6:00
Senior high (yrs 10-12) 1hr mins: Wednesdays 5:00-6:00

Schedule:
Term 1 – Tuesday 28 January 2021 – Thursday 1st April 2021
Start from week 2 (Week of 1st February – 5th Feb)
Term 2 – Monday 19th April 2021 – Friday 25th June 2021
Start from week 2 (Week of 26th April – 30th April)
Term 3 – Monday 12 July 2021 – Friday 17th September 2021
Start from week 2 (Week of 19th July – 23rd July)
Term 4 – Tuesday 5 October 2021 – Friday 17 December 2021
Start from week 2 (Week of 11th Oct – 15th Oct)

Pricing
Casual $18 per session or $110 a term.

Information for your parents
Limited spots are still available.

Please get your adult to download the Afterschool Creative Writing Enrolment 2021 Term 1 Form and email it to chris@westwords.com.au to secure your place. Your parents can use your Creative Kids voucher to help pay for the classes.