HTAV Historical Fiction Competition

The Historical Fiction Competition is on hiatus. Check back for future competition details.

Inspire your Year 5-10 students to create stories based on historical events and people. Students can write about any period of history as long as the entry has a convincing setting that is historically correct in time and place.

Competition Categories:


Winning students will each receive a cash prize of $150 and a certificate.


Please note: The competition is open only to Victorian students or students from schools that are school members of the History Teachers' Association of Victoria.


Sponsors

  • Eureka Centre Ballarat



    The Years 5 and 6 category is sponsored by Eureka Centre Ballarat.

    Eureka Centre is located at the site of the 1854 Eureka Stockade and is home to the Eureka Flag. Through school programs, holiday activities and digital resources, the Eureka Centre encourages young people to engage with Australia’s colonial history and deepen their understanding of the Eureka Stockade and the political reforms that followed. Find out more about Eureka Centre here.
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  • Fremantle Press



    The Years 7 and 8 category is sponsored by Fremantle Press.

    Fremantle Press is a not-for-profit team of publishers and creatives, passionate about telling Australian stories. Established in 1976, Fremantle Press is renowned for producing quality books – including many of Australia’s best loved books by Indigenous authors and classic works of non-fiction like A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey. Our aim is to inspire kids to learn about the past in hopes they’ll become the storytellers of the future. Find out more about Fremantle Press here.
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  • History Council of Victoria



    The Years 9 and 10 category is sponsored by the History Council of Victoria.

    The History Council of Victoria is the peak body for history in Victoria. Through its activities and website, it encourages the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of history, and aims to raise the profile of history with decision-makers and the wider community. Find out more about the History Council of Victoria here.


Winning Entries

2022 Results

Years 5/6 (sponsored by Eureka Centre, Ballarat)


Years 7/8 (sponsored by Fremantle Press)


Years 9/10 (sponsored by the History Council of Victoria)


2021 Results

Years 5/6 (sponsored by Eureka Centre, Ballarat)

Years 7/8 (sponsored by Fremantle Press)

  • Winner: Oliver Dean, Doncaster Secondary College, Sanity
  • Runner Up: Olivia Campbell, Presbyterian Ladies' College, I Left Them in Embers

Years 9/10 (sponsored by the History Council of Victoria)

2020 Results

Years 5/6


Years 7/8 (sponsored by Fremantle Press)


Years 9/10 (sponsored by the History Council of Victoria)

  • Winner: Adele Eastwood, Presbyterian Ladies' College, The Hills
  • Runner Up: Alexis Egan, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Bentleigh, A Journey to Freedom
  • Highly Commended: Halle Schroor, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Bentleigh, Stolen Love

2019 Results

Years 5/6 (sponsored by Penguin Random House Publishing)

..

Left: Winner of the 5-6 category Aditya Bhattacharya, Goulburn Valley Grammar School pictured with judges Faye Quinn (HTAV) and Dr Deb Hull (HTAV). Right: Runner Up of the 5-6 category Chloe Kidney, Bayside Christian College, pictured with judges Faye Quinn (HTAV) and Dr Deb Hull (HTAV).


Years 7/8 (sponsored by Fremantle Press)

  • Winner: Meg Rogers, St Michael's Collegiate School, Survivor
  • Runner-up: Sanuda Diyagama, The Kilmore International School, Exiled


Runner Up of the 7-8 category Sanuda Diyagama, The Kilmore International School, pictured with judge Nick Adeney (HTAV).


Years 9/10 (sponsored by History Council of Victoria)

  • Winner: Tessa Quinlan, Victory Lutheran College, A Field of Thunder
  • Runner-up: Mingqiu Dai, The MacRobertson Girls’ High School, Daybreak


Runner Up of the 9-10 category Mingqiu Dai, The MacRobertson Girls’ High School, pictured with judge Tim Hogan (History Council of Victoria).


2018 Results

Left: Year 7/8 Winner Niyati Eranki, Lowther Hall AGS with Dr Deb Hull from the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria. Right: Year 9/10 Winner Tessa Quinlan, Victory Lutheran College with Garrie Hutchinson from the History Council of Victoria.

Years 5/6

  • Winner: Ella MacDonald, Aspendale Primary School, Stolen
  • Runner-up: Caitlyn Fong, Oxley Christian College, Anna, Klaus and I


Years 7/8


Years 9/10 (sponsored by the History Council of Victoria)


2017 Results


Left: 7/8 category winner Hayley Kerekes from Haileybury. Right: Prize winner Chloe Landwehr from Monivae College with History Council of Victoria judges Tim Hogan and Garrie Hutchinson.


Years 5/6

  • Winner: Gracie Katharine Middleton, St Michael’s Collegiate School, 'Plot Twist'
  • Runner-up: Isabella Waters, Haileybury, 'Hopscotch'


Years 7/8


Years 9/10 (sponsored by the History Council of Victoria)


2016 Results


Left: Margaret Birtley (Executive Officer of the History Council of Victoria) and Garrie Hutchinson from the History Council of Victoria with year 9/10 winner Sam Edwards and runner up Victoria Thompson. Right: Nick Adeney from the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria with Eleanor Watson (winner of the 5/6 category) and her grandmother.

Years 5/6


Years 7/8


Years 9/10 (sponsored by the History Council of Victoria)


2015 Results


Winner of the History Council of Victoria year 9/10 category, Zainab Sayed, MacRobertson Girls’ High School, pictured with Margaret Birtley (Executive Officer of the History Council of Victoria) and Garrie Hutchinson (board member of the History Council of Victoria)

Years 5/6

  • Winner: Marion Scott, St Michael's Collegiate School, ‘East Berlin 1961’
  • Runner-up: Gypsy Polacheck, St Michael's Collegiate School, ‘A World Apart’


Years 7/8

  • Winner: Maisarah Noor Hasbi, The Australian International Academy, ‘Buzkashi’
  • Runner-up: Tessa Harkin, St Michael's Collegiate School ‘Whispers and Closed Doors’


Years 9/10 (sponsored by the History Council of Victoria)

  • Winner: Zainab Sayeda, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School ‘Torn’
  • Runner-up: Rehan Maniyar, Mazenod College ‘Flashpoint’


2014 Results

Years 5/6

  • Winner - Clementine Harris, St Michael's Collegiate School, ‘The Captain’s Hat’
  • Runner-Up - Sarah Savage, St Michael's Collegiate School, ‘Rosa Parks’


Years 7/8

  • Winner - Olivia Kingston, St Michael's Collegiate School, ‘The Witch’s Daughter’
  • Runner-Up - Eleanor O’Toole, St Michael's Collegiate School ‘Egypt Story’


Years 9/10

  • Winner - Rehan Maniyar, Maznod College ‘Young Blood’
  • Runners-Up - Isabel O’Connor, Santa Maria ‘Oodgeroo Noonuccal-by’ and Olivia Ferraro, St Monica’s Epping, ‘Once Upon a Tyne‘
Historical Fiction Competition Entry Form

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