A SHORT story competition held by the online magazine My Student Style was won by a North-East student.

Beccy Smith, an English and creative writing student from Northumbria University impressed judges with her story ‘New Beginnings.”

The theme for the competition was ‘Spring’ and the submission had to contain up to 1,000 words of original content.

Her story was one of the most read entries resulting in her work being shortlisted and the My Student Style Creative Team judged her work to be the best.

It is an emotive and descriptive piece that explores themes of escapism and the overcoming of losing a loved one.

The central character goes through various emotions connected with the weather transition that we see between winter and spring.

It also touches on the use of sleeping pills as a method of treatment for insomnia, suggesting that the character has been through an extremely difficult time coming to terms with the loss.

Beccy, who was delighted at winning the competition, said: “It has been a wonderful opportunity to get some of my work out there and to receive recognition for it. My Student Style has provided an invaluable platform for students to publish their work.”

“My interest in psychology and the meanings of dreams inspired me to explore the themes within this story."