The 60 winners of the Samoa Observer Tusitala Short Story competition have been urged to develop their writing skills and be "original and creative" by letting their imagination fly through storytelling. 

This year's writing contest was based on the work of the Scottish author who made Samoa his adopted home, Robert Louis Stevenson who was also known to the Samoan community as "Tusitala". 

Held at Tusitala's one-time home, the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, the prize-giving ceremony also marked 12 years since the inception of the short story competition. 

The Samoa Observer Tusitala Short Story competition is an initiative of the Editor-in-Chief of the Samoa Observer and author and poet Gatoaitele Savea Sano Malifa. 

The mantra behind the initiative is to encourage young people to read and write for enjoyment while also giving them the opportunity to write freely about their thoughts, ideas and opinions. 

A total of 872 stories were submitted by students at the primary and secondary school level from Upolu and Savai'i and were assessed by a panel of four judges. 

Guided by the theme "Tusitala" or "Teller of Tales", the stories were inspired by some famous quotes from Tusitala's work. These include "a friend is a gift you give yourself", "Home is the sailor, home from the sea, and the hunter home from the hill", and "There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign" just to name a few. 

The British High Commissioner to Samoa, Gareth Hoar delivered the keynote address and encouraged young writers in Samoa to work hard in developing their English writing skills. 

Mr. Hoar congratulated all the prize winners and the young writers in Samoa for their willingness to part take in such an important writing competition. 

"I hope you enjoyed this opportunity to use it to expand your English language skills with such creativity and imagination," Mr. Hoar said. 

He then spoke about the significance of storytelling with reference to the literary work of the late Tusitala that connected with the people of Samoa when he was alive. 

The High Commissioner also noted that the life of Tusitala – a foreigner who lived in Samoa – was an example of how storytelling can bring people together to better understand and appreciate each other and to share their common interests. 

He then took a trip down memory lane, reflecting back on when he was young growing up in a small village in England, and the impact of the books he used to read as a child on his life and the path he has taken. 

Storytelling, according to Mr. Hoar, has the power to ignite the imagination and inspire new thoughts, ideas and possibilities. 

"I probably did not realise it at the time, but I think that all the adventurous books I read as a child, probably sparked my curiosity and interest in travelling overseas, discovering the world for myself and finding my own place in it. 

"As you know, within every story there is an essential message. My message for you today is to encourage you to continue to work really hard on developing your English oral and writing skills. You might ask why is that important. 

"One reason would be, that English is the global language spoken around the world. It doesn’t matter what country you’re in, you can still use English to communicate with other people. The most important reason is being able to express yourself."

There is also a life-long reward if one sharpens their English writing skills, added Mr. Hoar. 

"Whether it's the pleasure you get from using your imagination to write a story or set out your thoughts in a diary to write an essay or a school report, or when the time comes you have to fill out a University application or apply for a job. 

"Writing well in English can help you fulfil your dreams and ambitions in life so I strongly encourage you all to continue to work hard to develop and use your English language to follow your imagination and pursue your writing dreams. 

"You never know, your English writing skills may open up new opportunities or help you overcome challenges that lie ahead."

Mr. Hoar then acknowledged the work of the Samoa Observer newspaper in continuing such an important initiative and also thanked the sponsors for their assistance in making the story contest a reality every year. 

The Head Judge, Professor Silafau Sina Va'ai echoed similar sentiments and urged young writers to be "original and creative" in crafting their own stories. 

She congratulated all the winners, the students who submitted stories for this year, as well as their supportive teachers and parents. 

Prof. Silafau highlighted that the panel of judges were quite impressed with the range of skills, keen effort and maturity in handling the topics related to the work of the late Tusitala. 

She noted that judging was not easy for them as there were a lot of interesting and creative pieces from the students who made submissions for this year's contest. 

Prof. Silafau also highlighted that there were some entries that had obvious adult help, which is a common issue they face every year. However, she said one of the challenges that was notable with the entries this year, was that there were several copies that contained examples of plagiarism. 

She also encouraged the young writers to be original, saying: "The advice we would give you as writers to keep in mind is, that your unique original voice is your best asset.

"It is a precious gift from God that you should and can develop. There’s no one like you, with your own take, lens, or experience that you can use creatively to communicate your thoughts and talents and write your own stories. 

"We are here at the nesting and resting place of the famous Scottish writer who made Samoa his adoptive homeland, where he made his imagination fly with his stories, poems and letters. 

"So that's our advice for you, be original and creative in your writings. Be true to your own gift of inspiration and craft your own story using your own unique voice."

Out of the 60 students who won prizes on Wednesday, 24 were from schools in Savai'i, who had to catch the early boat to attend the prize giving. 

Here is the list of all the prize winners for this year's competition.