Creative sparks fly
20 Sep 2017
Year 13 student Nuku Tau’s wry and compelling short story – 18 – has won this year’s Dr Roger Ridley-Smith writing competition.
Nuku says he has always enjoyed writing fiction as he finds it relaxing and a good outlet for expressing his ideas. This was the first time he had entered such a competition and, while the $400 prize was a very generous motivator, he thought it was too good an opportunity to miss.
Head of English Chris Rayward describes Nuku’s story as a “psychologically convincing piece with a lovely mix of dark and light content.”
Old Boy Dr Ridley-Smith is an enthusiastic patron of creative writing at College. This year, entrants were asked to write a short story that related to the local and contemporary scene, referencing Christ’s College, or Christchurch, or Canterbury, or a mixture of all three. Dr Ridley-Smith says he was most impressed by the wide-ranging choice of topics for the competition and the thought and ingenuity put into the stories.
Along with Nuku, three other budding authors – Year 9 student Claude Tellick, Year 10 student Tom Jones and Year 11 student Aidan Lynch – were each awarded $150 for their “meritorious efforts”.
Click here to read Nuku Tau's short story.
