Magical Harry

 Magical Harry by Di Scotte

Harry was a magician.

He could make coins disappear. 

Pop!

He could make tiny balls hidden under cups vanish.

Wowie!

With a tap of his magic wand, he could make two joined rings split in two.

Zing!

But the one trick Harry couldn’t do was to make himself or his friends disappear when the school bullies decided to come after them.

Oh, how he wished and wished that he could just disappear. 

This is the first paragraph of a picture book manuscript I wrote as part of my first online picture book course through the Australian Writers’ Centre with Zani Louise.  It was inspired by a special young friend (thanks Harry!) and the struggles of many young people with bullying. 

It had been tucked away in my files for quite some time until I saw a promotion for Michelle Worthington’s ‘Anthology Angels’ competition this year.  The idea of ‘Bringing Authors' Dreams to Life’ was appealing, especially considering the theme for this year was ‘It’s A Kind of Magic.  Stories and spells by Second Rate Sorcerers’.  The judges were looking for stories ‘… that showcase the power of words and show the main character demonstrating resilience.’

So, I dusted off ‘Magical Harry’ and sent him off to the competition.  I was absolutely thrilled to recently learn that I was one of several other aspiring authors who had the privilege of being accepted to have their manuscript published in this year’s Anthology Angels.  And the best part of all, is that the charity benefitting from the proceeds this year is ‘Children’s Rights Queensland’. 

I feel very chuffed and extremely honoured to have such a wonderful start in this ‘magical’ world of writing for young people.

The anthology will be published by Share Your Story Publishing as part of the Anthology Angels.  It is due for release October 2022.