The first short story competition run by Elle magazine has been won by Katya Lebeque Smith, 23, who won a creative writing course presented by GetSmarter on behalf of Random House Struik.

Her short story, Two, about a teenager who accompanies her friend to a backstreet abortionist - but has a secret of her own - was judged the winner by author and creative writing course convenor Mike Nicol, who said, "She shows a strong descriptive ability and knows which details to use to create texture and style."

The winning story appears in the September issue, along with an interview with Johannesburg-based journalist who said, "My goals in life are simple: be happy, get published, don't die. If I manage two out of three, that'd be great."