Dubai, 23 May 2018:  Calling all young aspiring writers! Entries are now open for The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature’s creative writing competitions for students across the UAE. The Taaleem Award for poetry and the Oxford University Press story-writing competitions have become fixtures in the academic calendar, with the number of entries growing every year. 

“The student writing competitions give aspiring writers and poets a chance to showcase their writing skills and the amazing poems and stories that we are sent show how wonderfully creative the young people in our region are,” says Ahlam Bolooki, Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. “These student competitions are a great platform to encourage budding writers to get started and discover their inner talent.”

Both competitions are open to individuals as well as participating schools and colleges. They are divided into age-specific categories in both Arabic and English: 11 and under, 12-14, 15-17 and 18-25. The inspiration for 2019 entries is set to be “Other Worlds”. The deadline for submissions is 7 November 2018 and entries can be submitted via the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature website.

The winning stories will be published in two commemorative dual-language books and presented to the winners by international writers at the prize-giving ceremony during the 2019 Festival, held from 1-9 March.

Taaleem Award

“As the Festival grows in importance and influence, we are delighted that the ‘Taaleem Poetry Competition’ continues to grow with it,” says the Clive Pierrepont, Director of Communications. “The competition provides a platform for the region’s nascent talent and this year’s proud winners brought remarkable insight, inspiration and empathy to the theme of ‘Memories’. There were a record number of entries this year, well over 1,000 young people submitted their work. We look forward to our continuing relationship with the EAFOL and together, unearthing and inspiring a new generation of poets.’”

Oxford University Press Story Writing Competition

“We were delighted with the response to the 2018 competition – over 3,000 entries from a wide range of schools and colleges,” says Julie Till, Head of Central Asia, Middle East & North Africa, Oxford University. “There is a lot of nascent literary talent in the UAE which this competition helps showcase.”

For more information on the competition or for registration and submission, visit emirateslitfest.com/young-peoples-competitions.