Dear Parents and Carers

Beacon Hill School has registered for the Hong Kong Young Writers Award. If your child would like to enter this competition then please read the information below.

The HKYWA is an annual competition for aspiring writers to showcase their talents and creativity in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and cover art. The competition’s main aim is to foster excellence in creativity by providing students with the opportunity to develop their expressive talents and expand their horizons. The awards encourage and recognise excellence in English writing and artwork among students, aged from 6 to 18, of various age groups, diverse backgrounds and different learning abilities. 

All entries must be based on the theme New Tales of China’s Dinosaurs. One winner will be chosen in each of the groups, and one lucky student will be named The Hong Kong Young Writer of 2025. 

This year’s title & summary: New Tales of China’s Inventions

China has quietly become the global epicentre of fossil-hunting. In the 1990s, a farmer found the world’s very first clearly feathered dinosaur. Scientists called it Sinosauropteryx, which means “the China dragon bird”. Since then, more than 40 dinosaur species have been found in the province of Liaoning, including more than 24 pterosaurs – winged reptiles. Recently a new species of titanosaur was found in Jiangxi. Because China is less well-explored by palaeontologists, there’s much excitement about what will be found next—and what amazing stories the ancient fossils will tell!

All entrants will be divided into groups:

Primary

Year 1-3/Primary 1-3 Group 1

Year 4-6/Primary 4-6 Group 2

Word Count

Year 1-3:/Primary  Up to 500 for fiction and non-fiction.  No limit for poetry

Year 4-6/Primary Up to 1000 for fiction and non-fiction.  No limit for poetry

Judging Criteria

Here is a link to the judging criteria.

Each student can only submit either a literary or cover art entry.  

Writing Guidelines:

• All entries must be based on the theme New Tales of China’s Dinosaurs

• The writing can be fiction (including poetry) or nonfiction and must be done at home, with no adult support.

• The fiction is judged on creativity and originality

• The nonficiton is judged on factual accuracy and originality.

• Do not include any pictures/images, borders or coloured text. 

• All written entries must be emailed to Mr Thompson by Friday, 10th January 2025. Any submissions after this date can not be accepted.

• The word documents must be 10 point Times New Roman and have single line and word spacing 

• The entries must feature the title and written text of the student’s work. Do not include your child’s name in the title of the story.

Cover Art Guidelines:

• The creating of the cover art is to be done at home and with no adult support.

• It must be a hard copy (not digital).

• For Cover Art, we need the entries by Friday, 10th January 2025  at the latest.  Any submissions after this date can not be posted.

• Cover Art is designing a front cover that is based on the title New Tales of China’s Dinosaurs.  All submissions must be based on the topic - New Tales of China’s Dinosaurs

• Cover art must be of A3 size and portrait orientation.

If you have any further questions about the competition then please don’t hesitate to contact me:

andy.thompson@bhs.edu.hk

A reminder: work must have been created by the student, with no adult support.