Sixteen-year-old Buckajo resident Luca Yi was announced as winner of the Youth Category, for his story titled 'Someplace Else', 11-year-old Candelo resident Gyspy Rigatos was the Under-12 Winner in the Youth Category, for her story 'Kangaroo'.

The Olga Masters organisers congratulated all 128 entrants of the short story award and said the calibre of stories received from all over Australia was extraordinary.

Homeschooled writer and performer Luca Yi said, "It was a lot of fun writing the story and to get feedback from the judges, it's been a great experience."

He has also written a short play for Theatre Onset's upcoming production 'Bat Soup', is a member of Fling and a co-creator at Funhouse Studio.

This was the first year Luca participated in the award and his entry is an urban fantasy inspired by the true story of when his cat went missing for an extended period, imagining the adventures his pet went on in its absence.

"It's been a great opportunity, I would definitely recommend everyone to have a go in the future if you like writing," he said.

With continued support of the Masters family in honour of Olga, the award is now administered by South East Arts, in partnership with The South Coast Writers Centre, Island Magazine and with support from local author JD Shaw, the new youth prize has been made possible.

The short stories submitted were 2000-4000 words in length, by writers of all ages across the country, on the theme of life in rural Australia.

As the Under-12 Youth category winner, Gypsy Rigatos will receive a writing tutorial from JD Shaw.

Information about all the awarded writers is available for viewing online, as are their short story entries at the website olgamastersshortstoryaward.com/2020-winners

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