Edward River Library is celebrating Children's Book Week (August 16–23, 2025) with the judging of its first-ever youth writing competition, designed to spark creativity, build confidence, and connect with local high school students.
This year's Book Week theme, "Book an Adventure!", has inspired young writers across the region to create original works, with winning entries to be preserved in the library's local history collection.
Edward River Council's Library Coordinator Christine Evola said the idea grew out of a desire to engage older students in a meaningful, creative way.
"We've always had strong links with primary schools, but we wanted something that really spoke to high school students," Mrs Evola said. "This competition gives young people a platform to express themselves, see their work published locally, and even imagine a career in writing — whether as a journalist or a creative author."
The competition has already attracted strong interest, particularly from Years 7 and 8, and Mrs Evola hopes it will expand over time.
"This is just the start," she said. "I can see it growing into something even bigger over the next few years. I've been blown away by the imagination in the submissions — even the titles had me excited to read them."
Cr Shirlee Burge, who has a background in English literature, jumped at the opportunity to read the entries and help judge the competition..
"Reading the entries was a joy. I was absolutely amazed," Cr Burge said. "The imagination, the storytelling — I couldn't put them down. I stayed up until 1am just to find out what would happen next. It's fantastic to see this kind of talent coming through our local schools, and it's exactly what drives young people to think bigger and go out into the world."
The winners of the Edward River Library Youth Writing Competition will be announced in a ceremony at Deniliquin High School on 3 September, with their work joining the library's permanent collection. Excerpts from the winning entries will be published courtesy of the Deniliquin Pastoral Times in its Friday 5 September edition.
