Stan-tastic Stanley wins Tim Winton Young Writers Award

Perth Modern School student Stanley Jolly has been announced the winner of the Tim Winton Young Writers Award for Upper Secondary for his short story Ecdysis.

Stan’s short story was originally for an assessment I submitted last year and I decided to submit for the competition as it was a topic I was passionate about and I wanted to share it with other people,” Stanley said.

“It’s about a young boy, around 10-12 years of age, who is moving to regional Australia and he had faced a lot of bullying and homophobia in the past and he sees this move as an opportunity to shed his skin and explore his identity.”

“I have always been interested in reading and writing and I find writing a good way to help me nut out problems that I haven’t really figured out in my head yet.”

“I think I will always want to write alongside whatever career path I choose. At this stage, I don’t think I will pursue writing as my primary career path.”

Stan said he believes to become a good writer it is important to draw upon your own life experiences.

“I think the best writing comes from writing about what you know and what you are passionate about, and drawing from what is most important to you,” he said.

“My other friends studying English said they notice they get their best marks when they write about their own personal experiences.”

Principal of Perth Modern School Lois Joll said Stan has real writing talent and the school community was extremely proud of his achievement.