‘‘My name is Helen and I live in the Riverina,’’ the story begins.
‘‘I was once a very happy free-range chicken living a peaceful, wonderful life with my three sisters Ebony, Eva and Cheeseball.
‘‘But then something terribly awful happened . . . THE DISAPPEARANCES!’’
It might sound like a creatively concocted thriller, but Williams said at least 80 per cent of his story is based on real life.
But he admits to using some embellishments for entertainment.
‘‘I like writing because it gives you a chance to express yourself, and write down what you know,’’ said William.
‘‘The bit about the father coming out with the gun didn’t happen though; I just thought because we live on a farm and my dad is a farmer, so it would be a good thing to add.’’
‘‘The bit where the chicken meets the herds of kangaroos and other animals also wasn’t true — although you never know what they got up to.’’
Though this is the first time William has won any award for his creative writing — in fact it is the young author’s first time penning a story outside of school — William has already shown he has a way with words by winning two public speaking competitions in his school career.
‘‘He definitely has the gift of the gab,’’ his mother Kathryn Maynard said.
‘‘When we found out he’d won (the writing competition) we all got very excited.’’
William said the win has inspired him to continue to enter writing competitions, and hasn’t ruled out a career as an author in the near future.
Other winners include Jason Richardson, whose story ‘Alien Melody’ won the open winner category, and Jessica Wells’ ‘Empty’, which won the under 18 award.
The panel of four judges, also commended entries in the following categories:
Open – Maddy Arthur, ‘Prim, Proper, Proud’; Alice Halden, ‘Katrina’s Eyes’; Jason Richardson, ‘Mortar Life’; Mel Ifield, ‘The Days of Wintaar’; Fiona Cain-McAliece, ‘Concert Album’.
Under 18 – Shallan Stockton, ‘Revolution Road’; Jordi Crowe, ‘Season’s Trees’; Oscar Cannonball Richardson, ‘The Party’.
Under 12 – Tye Irvine, ‘Our Hiccup at Harvest’; Adelaide Rivero, ‘12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 , 6 , 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF!’.
Read William’s award-winning short story here.
