What a wonderful entertaining afternoon we had for the final session of the NSW Storytelling Conference for Adults - ‘Storytelling to Capture Your Audience’ at the end of June 2017. The Family Concert where the 7 finalists of the Student Storytelling Competition for children in yrs 5 & 6 performed their stories to family, friends, teachers and participants at the NSW State Conference was a delight. The Student stories included personal and creative stories written by the children as well as contemporary published tales.

This is the 8th year of the Statewide competition hosted by the Australian Storytelling Guild (NSW) Inc. www.storytellersnsw.org.au Over this time we have viewed entries of high quality from State, Catholic and Independent schools that showcase young people's love of language and literature.

Again this year we saw confident performances of stories that ranged in style and genre. Some tales were full of humour, mystery, twists and turns and others displayed a profound interest in narratives that dealt with challenging social issues.

“The students were invited to tell, not read their stories because not only does telling develop communication skills and confidence, it also develops community by inviting interaction with the audience in an engaging and entertaining way. In this era of social media, there is a renewed interest in live storytelling. This competition is an annual showcase for young Australian spoken talent”, said Christine Carlton, President of the Australian Storytelling Guild (NSW)

The Final placings for the Competition:
1st Place - Zachary O'Hara - Our Lady of Fatima Primary School, Caringbah - 'A bully is just another person in the crowd.'
2nd Place - Ivy Lowe - St Gerard's Primary School, Carlingford - 'Hatty and the Fox'
3rd Place - Natasha Metlege - St Catherine Laboure Primary School, Gymea - 'Life Isn’t What You Expect.,

The Australian Storytelling Guild (NSW) is a not-for-profit association dedicated to the development of and advocacy for oral storytelling, literature appreciation and creative expression through story creation and performance.