Final-year marketing student Wahaj Qaiser Syed has won the Swinburne Creative Writing Competition, making it a double win this year, as he also won the Swinburne Poetry Competition in June.

Wahaj’s story entitled “An Apple a Day” was a unique take on the adage, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. In his story, doctors are evil aliens that stalk human victims whose only protection are apples! One of the highlights of the ceremony was Wahaj’s reading of his chilling story. The other was the open sharing of all the writers on their inspiration and writing processes.

First runner-up was accounting and finance major, Rachel Song Mei Ying, with her story of a young girl’s family secret entitled “Hell House”. Three stories won Honourable Mention: PhD student Dewi Widyastuti with “Be in a Wind”, a tale of sibling love and grief, biotechnology student Naveen Kaushal Bandara Konara Mudiyanselage’s “A Short Rest” (told from the point of view of a trained killer), and Wahaj’s second story, “Aarde”, a science fiction-themed story.

Jointly organised by the School of Foundation Studies and the Swinburne Sarawak Library, the prize-giving took place online on 18 November. This year’s entries included students in foundation, undergraduate and PhD courses. Their stories ranged from romance and family relationships to science fiction and horror.

At the prize-giving ceremony, Professor John Wilson commended all the students for their participation, encouraged them to keep exploring their creativity and to continue their efforts in creative writing.