Christmas Short Story Contest. The 18-year old wrote about the North Pole communications centre which branched out into Bermuda.

The Royal Gazette received close to 200 short story entries. No poems or essays were accepted and the stories had to concentrate on the theme of Christmas and Bermuda.

The runner-up in the adult class is Mrs. Joanne Pidala, who wrote about `Harry's Christmas'. Harry, a former Scrooge, became a real believer in the spirit of Christmas.

In the under-18 division, Miss Sophia Greaves won first prize with her story about Jonah, who learned that all the money in the world could not buy happiness.

Mr. Keith Caesar is the runner-up for `That Christmas Eve', a story about an ambitious, young man who learned he had a conscience.

Special awards for authors who show exceptional promise, regardless of category, go to Mrs. Betty Azzario and Ms Katie Dunmore.

Cash prizes will be presented to the winners on Monday, December 19. And the winning stories as well as some honourable mentions will be published in The Royal Gazette 's Christmas Greetings on Christmas Eve, December 24.