2007/2008 Competition

Black Dog Institute 4th Annual Writing Competition:
Mood Disorders in Adolescence - Grassroots Solutions

We are delighted to publish the award winning essays from the 2008 Black Dog Institute Writing Competition, following an awards ceremony presided over by Paul Lynch, MP. See an album from the ceremony.

The winners and highly commended were chosen by three independent judges – Lydia Turner (INSIGHT Volunteer), Tanya Hanstock (Senior Clinical Psychologist) and Leon de Bord (Writer and Manager).

“Powerful, emotive, poignant, sensitive, captivating, honest, entertaining, moving humorous and inspiring are just some of the words to describe the calibre of this year’s entries,” the Judges said.

Read the full version of the Judges' comments [PDF, 171KB]

The names of some authors have been deleted for privacy reasons. In addition, the Institute made some minor editorial changes to some essays to protect the privacy of other individuals named in the essays.

The Winning Essays

• 1st Place - And Then My Tears Subsided, by Beth Nathan [PDF, 86KB]
• 2nd Place - What to Do When Its Hard to Walk, by Tim Clark [PDF, 43KB]
• 3rd Place - The Sensitive Steam Engine, by Miranda Flemming [PDF, 51KB]

Highly Commended Essay Entries (in no particular order)

• Depression: Something You Cannot Do Alone, by Sophie Boffa [PDF, 54KB]
• Success and its Relation to the Darkest Corner of the Soul, by Elizabeth Pennell [PDF, 69KB]
• The Day the Music Died, by Gabrielle Bridges [PDF, 100KB]
• My Depression from Nowhere , Anonymous [PDF, 64KB]
• In Memory of Kipper Thompson, by Lisa Jane Young [PDF, 75KB]
• The Devil and Me, Anonymous [PDF, 91KB]
• A Seven-year Prison Sentence, by David Ward [PDF, 77KB]
• A Greek Boy in an Anglo-Saxon Sea, by Thomas Mitchell [PDF, 160KB]
• Remember, Remember…, by Peter Brake [PDF, 123KB]
• Crippled by Something Nameless, Anonymous [PDF, 48KB]

The Winning Poetry Entry

• Growing Pains, Anonymous [PDF, 18KB]

Highly Commended Poetry Entry

• Swimming Towards Light, Mark Miller [PDF, 113KB]