Writing, illustrating, editing and publishing a book is a massive undertaking.
Doing it all in just one day is incredible, but some creative Southern River College students have risen to the challenge and done just that, and all for a good cause.
These students were participating in the annual Write A Book In A Day (WABIAD) competition to raise money for the Kids’ Cancer Project.
WABIAD is open to students across Australia, with participants having just 12 hours to create a book suitable for children.
As well as managing the time constraint, the books must be between 3500 and 5000 words in length while meeting set parameters relating to characters, settings and keywords.
These parameters are not provided until the morning of the challenge.
This is the sixth year Southern River College has participated in the event, with a record 90 students from across Years 7 – 10 taking part, forming 13 teams.
With support from teachers Margaret Camporeale, Lauren Hamilton and Matthew George, the students worked in the lecture theatre, which had been transformed into a creative space with laptops, drawing tablets, butcher’s paper and noticeboards for design inspiration.
It was an intensive time with quick breaks only for lunch and a pizza dinner.
Ms Camporeale put her hand up to run the event, seeing the benefits of WABIAD from both a student and teacher perspective.
“It is something I participated in and enjoyed in high school,” she said.
“It is an incredible day for students to use the skills they learn in class to create something they can call their own, which benefits young people their own age.
“Students learn to work together in groups, learn leadership skills, communicate with one another and work through conflict, all while raising money and creating books for a good cause.
“It is the second year I have run the day; this year was even better than last. The groups all worked together to meet their goal, and everyone left very positive.”
Ms Camporeale says she enjoyed all the books, but her standout favourites were The Treacherous Birthday and The Pirate and the Woodcutter.
The books are now with the competition judges and are in the running for prizes.
As well as producing these books for children in hospitals to enjoy, Southern River College has already raised $2411 for the Kids’ Cancer Project.
To donate simply visit https://writeabookinaday.com/school-groups/?id=946
