Laura Nucinkis

Student Laura Nucinkis (formerly St Mary’s College) perfected a winning beginning to a novel when she took first prize in a competition organised by Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton.

Laura won the £50 first prize in the years 12 and 13 category. Fellow Taunton’s student Rebecca Scivier (formerly Regents Park Community College) was also highly commended for her piece.

“In under 300 words we had to provide a novel opening,” says Laura. “Mine is a descriptive piece about an island that a young girl remembers from her past.”

The competition was judged by the museum’s writer-in-residence Rebecca Smith, assisted by Professor Katharine Sutherland of St Anne’s College Oxford and Louise West, education officer at the museum.

"We were all so impressed by Laura's work. There were hundreds of entries, but hers emerged as the clear winner. Laura's prose is measured and evocative with enough that is mysterious to intrigue a reader," says Rebecca Smith.

You can read Laura's and Rebecca’s work here: www.mainhighway.com/jah/Competition_winning_entries2010.pdf

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