HMSG marked World Book Day by celebrating the achievements of Year 12 pupil Rebecca, who has had her work published as part of a national writing competition.

Rebecca won the Evans Schools Short Story Competition, and was one of 29 writers to be published from more than 3,000 entries nationwide.  The winning works have been drawn together in an anthology entitled ‘The escape of Hanna Schmidt’.

Rebecca with Mary Davies of Evans Publishing

Rebecca’s mature and thought-provoking story, ‘Understand Me’, surrounds the tragic consequences of a lack of communication and explores the themes of isolation and misunderstanding.  She attributes her inspiration for the story from current affairs and from the Greek mythology covered in her AS level Classics studies at HMSG.

Commenting on her success, Rebecca said, “It was quite exciting to hear that I’d won!  I entered the competition giving it my best shot, never thinking I was going to win.  So it was a very pleasant surprise when I heard my story had been selected.”  

Rebecca hopes to pursue a career in writing, adding, “I’d like to get involved with writing the plots and storylines for computer games.  This is a growing medium, and as it matures, I’m sure the possibilities will be endless.  Computer games being interactive, there are lots of interesting themes that can be explored that will really challenge the audience, and make them think.  Story-telling will not be a passive experience anymore, and I think that’s really exciting.”

Judged by well-know author Stewart Ross, The Evans Schools Short Story Competition gives children an insight into the world of published authors and illustrators.