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WriteIT winners announced!

For the third consecutive year, Youthbeyondblue has proudly supported the National Youth Week (NYW) WriteIT competition.

This year’s theme was ‘LOOK, LISTEN, TALK and SEEK HELP!’ which are the key messages of Youthbeyondblue.  After reading hundreds of entries, the judges and the public have voted.

The 2010 WriteIT winners are:

CEO of beyondblue, Leonie Young was impressed with the scope of talent in this year’s entries.  “It was great to see how young people throughout Australia focused on Youthbeyondblue’s key messages in this year’s WriteIT competition,” she said.

Young literary legend

Written by Amy Hume and published in the Kilmore Free Press
June 25, 2010 - Page 4

BUDDING Wallan writer, Ashley Marks, has swept the floor in the National Youth Week 2010, National Talent Competition, Writeit Junior Awards. The 17-year-old impressed judges with her essay, A Second Chance, and received the Industry Award, as judged by renowned crime writer Tara Moss.  Ashley also received the People’s Choice Award as judged by people who read her essay and voted online over a two-week period. Ashley’s 1500-word winning essay was built around the theme, “LOOK, LISTEN, TALK and SEEK HELP,” which was set by Youthbeyondblue. “A few weeks after entering, I got an email to say that I had been short-listed as one of five writers under the age of 18 from around Australia,” Ashley said.  “A couple of weeks after voting closed I received an email saying that I had won.

“Everyone was pretty excited,” she said. Ashley’s mother, Susie Marks, said the family was very proud and pleased with Ashley’s success.

“We were just excited that she was shortlisted in the top five,” she said. “Hopefully this leads onto bigger things. English is her main love.”  Ashley discovered her talent at the age of nine and has been building her skills ever since.

“I’m always writing something,” Ashley said. She was awarded Best Short Story at the Whittlesea Show last year and won the 2007 Newspaper House Literary Competition which led her to publish her first novel, Thirteen.  Ashley is currently studying for her VCE exams at Assumption College, and with English as her main love, she hopes to further her career in writing after leaving school. As part of her Writeit Junior Awards, Ashley will receive a new Sony Notebook Computer.

Youthbeyondblue also supported over one hundred National Youth Week events in every state and territory which promoted positive mental health.

Find out more about National Youth Week 2010 at www.youthweek.com.