A Leap from the Page: Year 6 Writers Selected for Publication
Every story begins with a small act of courage.
Before there is a finished book, there is an empty page. Before there is an audience, there is a writer deciding that an idea is worth pursuing. For Year 6 students Ethan Di Francesco and Hamish Thompson, that decision - to take a leap, trust their imaginations, and share their work - has led to an extraordinary achievement.
Following their participation in the 2026 National Young Authors’ Fair Writing Competition, Ethan’s story, The Quest, and Hamish’s story, The Guardian’s Fury, have been selected for online publication.
The National Young Authors’ Fair provides students aged eight to eighteen with the opportunity to write, publish, and showcase their own books to readers beyond their immediate school communities. Through the competition, aspiring authors are invited to move through the full creative process: developing an original idea, shaping characters and settings, drafting, revising, and ultimately submitting a completed work for consideration.
For Ethan and Hamish, the journey began through their involvement in the Writers’ Circle program.
Across recent terms, both students have shown a strong commitment to their writing. I have been particularly impressed by the maturity with which they approached the process and the care they took in refining their work. To be selected for publication while still in Year 6 is a remarkable achievement and a fitting recognition of their creativity and dedication.
For Ethan, publication represented the fulfilment of a long-held ambition.
“For a while, I have had a dream to write a book and have it published for other people to read. Now, that dream has come true.”
Hamish was equally enthusiastic about the opportunity to share his work more widely.
“I joined because I wanted to share my stories with the world. It feels amazing to actually be published.”
The Quest and The Guardian’s Fury will now be available for readers to access and purchase, allowing the boys’ ideas to travel well beyond the College gates.
Printed copies of both books will also be placed in the College Library, where their work can be read and enjoyed by other students.
The Writers’ Circle seeks to provide boys with the time, encouragement, and support to explore their ideas and develop confidence in their own voices. Students come to the program with different levels of experience, but they share the same invitation: to begin, to experiment, and to see where an idea might lead.
For Ethan and Hamish, that first leap has taken their stories from the Writers’ Circle classroom to publication. Their achievement is an important reminder that young writers do not need to wait until adulthood for their voices to matter. Sometimes, all it takes is an idea, a blank page, and the courage to give it a go.
Mr Will Duffield
Performing Arts Development Manager & Coordinator of Writers' Circle & Creative Writing Competitions