Win big with your children stories
11 November 2020 | Education
As a collaboration between the University of Namibia and Cardiff University in Wales (UK), the organisers are once again asking up-and-coming as well as experienced authors to submit short stories in English, suitable for children aged between 7 and 15 years.
The competition was initiated by Professor Jairos Kangira (Dean: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at UNAM), himself an author of children’s stories; Tim Davies (Cardiff University), a widely published author of short stories and plays; and Professor Judith Hall, Cardiff University’s Lead for the Phoenix Project.
According to Kangira: “Writing stories for children promotes a reading culture at an early stage in both countries. We want to catch them young so that they grow up reading books. Reading books helps children to learn about the world around them and beyond. The intercultural dimension of this writing competition is of great importance for Namibia and Wales.”
“Last year’s competition went tremendously, and we look forward to an even more successful event in 2021,” Davies said of the competition.
Why not take pen to paper (or sit down at your computer!) and get involved?
This time too, the organisers are hoping to receive interesting and exciting new stories to inspire children.
The Short Fiction for Children Competition 2021 is open to anyone resident in Namibia and Wales with submissions to be made before 30 April 2021. There are a rigorous set of rules, which authors must adhere to, and organisers are clear that plagiarism is a crime, it will be checked for, and will not be tolerated.
Three small monetary prizes will be offered by the Phoenix Project. The competition’s first round saw four winners being awarded, namely Nabeelah Suleman, Mel Kelly and Mundia Mercy Mubuyaeta from Namibia, as well as Karen Pierce from Wales.
According to Hall, last year’s stories are already providing a legacy of reading; the stories were warm and funny but also challenging for children. “We are building this legacy of tales where we can learn through the power of our stories. Roll on the second competition!”
Reflecting on the importance of reading for the children of Namibia and Wales, Professor Kenneth Matengu, Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia said: “In both countries, children learn in multiple languages, this gives them a wonderful start in life, however the language of focus here is the Language of the Imagination. Let us see more of this!”
For the full competition rules, send an email to [email protected] or follow this link: www.bmc.wales/short-stories-for-children-comp