Hundreds of budding writers shared their stories and poems in this year’s annual Boroondara Literary Awards competition, held in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Balwyn.
Writers of all ages took part, including Zariah Aurora, who won first prize in the Junior Poetry category for her poem ‘In the Prime of Our Youth’, which references influencers and young people’s self-esteem.
“I wanted to show the negative impact that influencers have on youth self-esteem and a call for us to be more confident with who we are.”
Zariah (pictured above, centre, in green dress) says she entered the awards to “give it a shot” and see how far she could get. “I liked the thought of putting my writing out there and other people reading it. I just loved the experience and the nervousness on awards night, and seeing the other winners’ reactions.”
To view the full list of winners and highly commended entries for each category, visit our 2023 Boroondara Literary Award winners page.