Short Story Competition 2023
October 2023 is Islamic Heritage Month: a brilliant opportunity for our children to learn how to tell their own stories!
Calling all young writers!
Many of our young readers at Ruqaya’s Bookshelf are also talented writers. To encourage young Muslims to tell their own stories, we’re hosting a short story writing contest for budding writers between the ages of 6-13.
Eligibility:
- Authors must be between the ages of 6 and 13
- Submitted stories must be the author’s original story idea created with minimal adult help
- This contest is open to authors anywhere in the world!
- Submissions must be written in English
- Submissions are limited to one story per child
Stories will be judged for their creativity and quality of writing. Prizes will be awarded to the best story from each age group.
The winning author from the 6-9 age group will be awarded a $150 gift card to Ruqaya’s Bookshelf & get to choose one school that will receive a full set of Ruqaya’s Bookshelf children's books (valued at $450 USD).
The winning author from the 10-13 age group will receive a $150 Ruqaya's Bookshelf gift-card, and a one-on-one writing/coaching session with Asmaa Hussein, founder of Ruqaya’s Bookshelf.
Everyone who enters the contest will receive a small gift from Ruqaya's Bookshelf - one gift per family.
Requirements:
- Stories will be judged separately for age groups 6-9 and 10-13. Stories submitted to the 6-9 age group should be 700 words or less. Stories submitted to the 10-13 age group should be 1000 words or less.
- Submissions should be typed in a Microsoft Office Word document.
- Illustrations are welcome, but not required.
- The story should feature a Muslim main character, but aside from that, authors are encouraged to be as creative as they like!
Please submit stories by October 31, 2023 by emailing info@ruqayasbookshelf.com with the following:
- Subject line should read: Story Submission 2023
- Child's name and age and country of residence
- Full name and email address of child's parent/guardian
- One attached Word file containing the story and (optional) scanned illustration file in PDF or JPEG format
Submissions that do not follow the guidelines will automatically be disqualified. Winners will be announced on November 20, 2023.
Happy writing!
