The winners of the 2017 Central Coast Council Library Service annual Short Story Competition were announced at a well-attended awards ceremony yesterday.

This is the second consecutive year the competition has been held across the Coast, creating a platform for hopeful local authors to be discovered and recognized whilst developing literacy skills in the community.

Council Unit Manager Libraries, Michelle Swan-Beardmore was at the ceremony yesterday to present the winners with their Apple iPad to help cultivate their creative writing.

“Congratulations to all those who took out an award at yesterday’s presentations,” Ms Swan-Beardmore said.

“With a record number of 234 entries, receiving an award is a noteworthy accomplishment.

“We are incredibly proud of the Library’s role in nurturing and inspiring our amazing local talent to help not only boost the profile of creative writing across the Coast, but also encourage the development of literacy skills within our community.

“We would like to thank everyone who was brave enough to submit their original stories.”

The winners in each category are:

Junior 5-8 – Chase McGarvey for Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Child 9-12 – Isabella Pex for Destiny’s Quest

Youth 13-17 – Sophie Miller for Rising Sky

Adult 18+ – Ryan Carson for The Sculptor

Council Director Connected Communities Julie Vaughan, said the talent displayed this year was absolutely outstanding, making the judges decisions significantly challenging.

“This is such an incredible program and I commend our libraries for their part in cultivating creative writing in our local community,” Ms Vaughan said.

“With only 40 per cent of our population having completed year 12 or equivalent, our Libraries play an important role in encouraging education and learning, so it is fantastic to see all ages getting involved in this competition.

“This is only one of the many ways our libraries are helping improve literacy and reading levels in our community – I would encourage everyone to join our library service and discover what other amazing initiatives they offer to help develop these skills.”

To read the winning entries and rediscover what your local library has to offer visit centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/libraries