SUCCESS STORIES

MY BROTHER JACK LITERARY AWARDS 

Glen Eira City Council has been running an annual literary competition, The My Brother Jack Awards, since 1996. The competition acknowledges the lasting impact of the semi-autobiographical novel, written by George Johnston in 1964. It was for many years, a compulsory text for the English literature syllabus in Victorian Secondary schools.

Two McKinnon students have excelled themselves, receiving first prize awards in their individual categories.

Sara Roychand of Year 7 has been writing stories as a hobby for some years. She enjoys creative writing and has published four eBooks. Sara entered the Junior Secondary (Years 7–9) Short Story category with a 500-word limit on any subject of choice. She was awarded first prize, which came with a generous $400 gift card.

Her story, The Day the City was Free can be read here: The Day the City was Free

Sidney Silkstone of Year 10 is an avid reader and writer. She is currently taking creative writing and VCE English literature at McKinnon.  Her Literacy teacher, Mr David Dick describes her as ‘a very talented writer and literature student. A keen creative and analytical mind’. 

Sydney also won first prize in the Senior Secondary (Years 10-12) Short Story category for her entry Viola, which you can read here: Viola

She was awarded a $500 gift voucher for her story. 

The awards for these categories were judged by Paul Dalgarno, a novelist and senior writer and editor of the Herald newspaper (UK). There were 1,000 entries in the 2026 competition.

We extend our congratulations to Sara and Sidney on their outstanding achievement.

Kelly Payne

Publicity