The National Library is continuing to expand its annual essay and short story competition, which will include a poetry category next year and will be rebranded the “Crea-tive Writing Competition.”
This was announced yesterday as P&P Insurance Brokers presented the library with a $300,000 sponsorship cheque as it has once again partnered with the library in an effort to promote literacy and nurture young writers.
Margaret Eastman, the National Library’s Coordina-tor of Extension Activities, noted that one of the objectives of the competition is to help participants progress from avid readers to budding writers, and the essay and short story competition emerged naturally as activities towards this end.
Eastman recalled that the competition began in 2009 for entrants in three age groups—9 to 11 years; 12 to 14 years; and 15 to 17—and participants from Region 4 and Georgetown. A fourth age category, 18 to 20 years, was added at the request of the general public and in 2012 the age range was extended to 25 years. Based on the positive feedback, the competition has been expanded over the years and participation has been extended to eight other regions as well as the country’s five prisons. The category for adults has also been widened to 35 years, she further added.
Poetry, Eastman announc-ed yesterday, will be included in the 2014 competition, will be known as the “Creative Writing Competition.”
CEO of P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited Bish Panday said that the company was once again happy to sponsor the competition and that the library must be commended for encouraging literacy among young people. The benefit of reading, he said, was too numerous to mention but he emphasised its importance in helping persons to express themselves. He especially lauded the library for including submissions from the prisons, saying it will do inmates well on the path to rehabilitation.
Awards for the competition are given to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in each age category. The first prize is $10,000, a trophy and a book; the second prize is $7,000, a trophy and a book; and their prize is $5,000, a trophy and a book.
