If you’ve got an Out of This World story to tell, enter the Kingsmead Young Writers’ Competition (YWC) before Thursday, 2 April 2026 and stand the chance to win exciting prizes.
Launched in 2022 by Johannesburg-based girls’ school, Kingsmead College, as a branch of their annual Kingsmead Book Fair, the competition gives South African schoolchildren a platform to express their creative writing skills.
The inspiration for the competition is to get children off their screens and onto a blank page where they can express themselves, ignite their imagination and build their communication skills.
And this does wonders for their future career opportunities too, as a report by the World Economic Forum noted that creative thinking skills are the top priority for employers. Artificial Intelligence can’t match human creativity, which is fuelled by emotion, experience and intuition.
This year’s Out Of This World theme asks young writers to submit an original creative short story based on one of four topics:
1. The Galaxy Games
2. My Space Safari
3. A Message from Tomorrow
4. Off The Grid
Each age group has a different word count. Prizes for the winning entry in each age group include cash prizes from Standard Bank Wealth and Investment, book vouchers from Exclusive Books, feedback from the judges and publication in an online eBook.
Winners will be announced on social media mid-May 2026.
For the rules and entry form, check out: https://kingsmead.co.za/bookfair/young-writers-comp/
Follow @Kingsmeadbf (Instagram) and @kingsmeadbookfair (Facebook) for more information. Queries (no entries) can be sent to Corinne Rosmarin at kbfyoungwriters@gmail.com
