From magical worlds and time travel, to a tale of cheating with a twist, Mid Canterbury writers have impressed in a local competition.

Almost 60 keen writers threw their hats in the ring for this year’s Ashburton Writers Group short story competition.

The seven winners received certificates and book vouchers at a ceremony at the Ashburton Art Gallery, handed out by councillor Carolyn Cameron, on Wednesday.

Aaliyah Connolly won first place in the 11 and under category, Danielle Esmolina won the 12-15 category, and Deborah Lysaght took out the adult section.

Connolly, who goes to Allenton School, said fairy tales inspired her story The Magic Worlds Problem.

“The [creatures] have to move worlds, because their world is in danger. And then they become humans.”

She writes stories in her spare time and loves to read.

“I’ve just started [reading] a new book, but I do like David Walliams.”

Wakanui School student Esmolina won first place in the 12-15 category for her story, The Time Keeper’s Pendant. She said time travel was a big influence in stories she writes.

“The story is about a boy who found a pendant in his basement. One night, he accidentally activated it, and went into another dimension.”

Esmolina said putting the pen to paper was no easy feat.

“The whole story was hard to come up with. I spent a lot of time deciding on the name.

“I decided to do it ‘cause I wanted to try something new.”

For Deborah Lysaght, winner of the adult category, the win was a slight surprise - it was her first time entering the competition.

Her story, Cold, was about an angry wife who caught her husband cheating - but with a twist.

“I’d had the idea in my head for years, so I just vomited it all out on paper.”

She writes frequently and will “sit down in front of the computer every day”, sometimes to type and sometimes to proof-read.

Lysaght said she gets ideas from all over the place, and treats online forums like treasure troves.

She encouraged people of all ages to give short stories a go.

“Write your way. It’s your book, your rules.”

The competition has run for 23 years, writers group secretary Rae Magson said. Some things haven’t changed.

“They still write about dragons and aliens, space, witches.

“We love reading them, we have a day of it.”

While it was “exhausting” going through the 60 stories or so, it was good reading and showed how many creative minds were out in the Ashburton area.

The finalists were judged by Ashburton Guardian editor Daisy Hudson, who said she was impressed by the high quality of entrants.

By Anisha Satya