Stratford High School student Celia Gribble wins top literary award

Stratford High School Year 9 student Celia Gribble, 14, placed first in the Lysaght-Watt Trust Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards secondary school short story category. Photo / Alyssa Smith

A Stratford High School student has placed first in a regional literacy competition.

Year 9 student Celia Gribble, 14, won the Lysaght-Watt Trust Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards secondary school short story category.

“It was unreal. I was so happy just to be announced as a finalist, so to win the whole thing is crazy. I was sitting there listening to these stories from so many talented writers who entered, so to win is a real honour.”

The award-winning piece, Goodbye, told the tale of a mother and daughter, she said.

“It’s about a teenage girl who gets into an argument with her mum. She ends up running away and some time later her brother calls her to say her mum had died in a car crash. From there it’s about the daughter coming to terms with her grief and not being able to tell her mum she didn’t mean the hurtful things she said. It’s a reminder to be kind to people because you never know when you’ll see them last.”

It was Celia’s first time entering the competition.

“I do a lot of speech and drama and my teacher told me about this competition she entered. She encouraged me to give it a try, so I did.”

She said the inspiration behind the story came to her randomly.

“I was listening to music and writing a story for an English assignment. All of a sudden the words just came to me, so I started writing. I was working on it for a couple of weeks, editing and changing the story a bit.”

Celia said she enjoyed writing.

“I love that it’s a way to get all those thoughts and feelings out and on paper.”

She said she planned to enter next year’s competition and encouraged other budding writers to do the same.

“It’s a really great experience and it helps a lot with your writing.”