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Published on 30 May 2025
We are absolutely delighted to announce the winning and shortlisted entries from this year’s Short Story Competition here at Upper Hutt Libraries.
With well over 160 entries and a fantastic diversity of storytelling, it was a true challenge for our judging team to decide on the finalists.
Congratulations to all entrants: you took the opportunity to travel on the wings of imagination – thank you for sharing your writing. We can’t wait to see where your creativity takes you next year!
And if you’re keen to try out something different: our Poetry Competition opens on 23 June 2025. Keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for details coming soon.
Winners and shortlists
Step on through into captivating new worlds.
Ride the highs and lows of life alongside characters you won’t forget after turning the page.
Have a laugh, reflect, enjoy – this is homegrown writing at its very best.
Winners
First place: A Concussion of Memories by Philip Luke Second place: Park Avenue Movers by Colin Phillips Third place: Best Present Ever by Andy Evans
Shortlist
The Missing Saltshaker by Laura Malin-Curry Champion by Megan Scholtz Catharsis by Sarah du Toit Te Awa Kairangi: Birth of a River by Nick Cottrell The Boy and the Bridge by Andy Dunn By Right of Blood by Meenakshi Kannan Where There Ought to Be Love by Gaynor Mills
Read the entries here (Teen and Adult categories).(PDF, 3MB)
First place: Six Months of Sunshine by Erin Knox Second place: The Perfection of Humanity by Anastasia Bradley Third place: Who's Holding the Eraser? by Anastasia Wongcharupan
Windy Wrath by Rudransh Sahoo The First Firework by Elizabeth Walker They Do What? by Rhea Wilson The Golden City by Keira Dempsey Pieces of the Past by Aryanna Billington The Hospital by Talyn Hislop-Croft Through The Khidkee (Window) by Manvi Sharma
First place: Ra and Ua: Guardians of the Ngahere by Piper Sutton Second place: The Time I Got Out by Jackson McCullagh-Smith Third place: The Two Best Friends and the Magical Creature by Reese Huang
The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Superhero by Dev Rama The Easter Bunny and the Girl by Jocelyn Liang Beach Story by Surya Age My BeFFs by Hannah Saker Hamsters by Archer Pentecost The Blood Hand by Brooklyn Sheehan
Read the entries here (both children's categories).(PDF, 4MB)
First place: Behind the Blue Door by Vicky Vu Second place: Planet Noodleoplis by Hannah Scott Third place: A Whale's Mission by Willow McIndoe
Why Chromebooks Always Run out of Battery by Sophia Le Forest Showdown by Venkata Srinidhi Sunrise Ride by Alette Gibbons The Brave Old Man by Jacob Johnson Bubbles and Fire by Paris Yiannoutsos The Underwater Cave by Vida Kyle The Vent Girl by Aoife Raggett