HABS Novel Writing Competition

The annual Novel-Writing Competition Finale took place on 5 October 2016 at the Girls’ School. This is always a great occasion, with Luigi Bonomi, a Habs parent (but more importantly a top literary agent) once again judging the students’ entries. The boys provided 12 of the finalists, with each student reading a short extract of their work to the audience. Many of the boys relished the opportunity to perform to the audience, with Sam Newman and Daniel Levy both rising to the occasion.

Please find the Boys’ winners below, with Luigi’s comments:

 
3rd – Caesar: Untold Story by Rahul George

“This is a very impressive entry from a boy who’s only in year 8. What attracts the reader most about the story is the high concept: the idea that Caesar spent his life battling monsters, so that everything we know about ancient Rome must be seen in a different light. This is a fantastic idea reminiscent of a pitch for a Hollywood film or bestselling novel – congratulations, Rahul!”
 
 
2nd – Depression is a Cruel Thing by Adam O’Reilly

“A very dark vision of loss, depression, bullying and violence, but expressed with a mature tone and powerful imagination. The challenge, of course, would be to temper such a bleak vision of the world so that it becomes sustainable over a longer work – and indeed there is a glimmer of hope and kindness towards the end.”
 
 
1st – Kurva by Yohaan Gokhale

“Once again Yohaan returns us to his meticulously created world that blends fantasy with the ancient far east. This kind of writing is all about breadth of imagination and world building – the author needs to know his creation inside out so that the reader feels that a convincing world has been created, somewhere you want to know more about and spend time in. It’s a question of using fine detail in such a way that it builds atmosphere; not only what we see but what we smell, taste and touch as well, and Yohaan has once again proved his skill at this. Well done, Yohaan!”