Eighteen HSC graduates become published authors

Eighteen major works were selected from 70 nominations, made up of 6 short fiction pieces, 5 critical responses, 4 creative nonfiction pieces, 2 collections of poetry and 1 script.

The works explore a range of themes and ideas with great depth, inquisitiveness and authenticity – across history, philosophy, psychology, culture, health and the human experience.

The works reflect the personal passions and experiences of the young authors who wrote them in their final year of high school – whether that be driven by familial experiences, cultural observations or an enthusiasm for the thinkers and storytellers of the past.

Isabelle Bennett from Macarthur Anglican School in Sydney’s West produced a collection of poetry, ‘On These Far Shores’, exploring grief and its movement through different emotional responses.

Khuslen Batmandakh from Merewether High School wrote a short story, ‘Is Revolution a Fast Gun that Looks Back?’, exploring the role of art as witness to history, framed through the persecution of the Mongolian poet Ryenchinii Choinom during Mongolia's socialist era.

Isabella Marks from St John Paul II Catholic College in Schofields delivered a critical essay, ‘The Readers Symptom: Psychology, Literature, and the Anxiety of Ambiguity’, that argues contemporary “certainty-obsessed culture” has the profound impulse to diagnose and categorise fictional characters, rather than allow them to stand ambiguously.

The collection of work is available for free download from NESA’s Showcase Hub.

CEO of the NSW Education Standards Authority Paul Martin said:

“As always, the collection of works selected from the English Extension 2 course astounds me.

“At the age of 17 or 18, these young writers had the knowledge, skills and ability to think how they do, and to translate that on to paper.

“These young people have innate talents – but they have also been given the support to flourish from their teachers. 

“The extension course provides space for young people with the passion, desire and capacity to produce a piece of work that can live on.

“To all 1,400 students who completed the course last year – congratulations. The course is a major undertaking that requires time, planning, talent and enthusiasm to succeed in.

“All the best to the 18 graduates selected for Young Writers this year – I look forward to seeing what you do next.”