How to enter?
Send your story with details to brigitte(dot)Rozario(at)gmail(dot)com.
Details:
- Full name
- Age (year of competition)
- Full name of one parent
- That parent’s contact number
- That parent’s email address
Who can enter?
Anyone currently residing in Malaysia.
How old do I need to be to enter?
11-15 years old (year of competition)
I am still 10; I am turning 11 in December. Can I enter?
Yes.
I am still 15; I turn 16 in December. Can I enter?
No.
I am 15 and I qualify to enter the Merdeka Writing Competition and the Pipit Writing Competition (both organised by Brigitte Rozario). Can I enter both?
Yes. Lucky you. But, you cannot use the same story for both.
I am not a Malaysian; can I enter?
Yes, as long as you are residing in Malaysia. Refugees, foreigners, stateless children are welcome to enter the competition.
What is the theme?
The theme changes every year. For 2026, it is Failure. Write a story that has anything to do with failing.
Must the story be related to Merdeka?
No, the story doesn’t have to have anything to do with Merdeka. That’s just the name of the competition.
What should I write?
Fiction. Tell us a story. Have a main character, give the main character problems to overcome. Give the main character a backstory (motivation, reason to do things). Have layers (complications, side stories). Don’t make things so simple, straightforward or predictable. Let your story feel real. People don’t succeed on the first try. People are disappointed. You don’t have to have a moral to your story. It just needs to be believable. Please do not end your story with “And she woke up from a dream …” or “The moral of the story is …”
Think of real life. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Sometimes people try many times before their application is accepted, or they win a contest.
Don’t let it end with: And everybody died. That’s no realistic.
Stories are about people. Make sure you tell us your main character’s story, whether it’s good or bad. Don’t start with the main character, then forget about him (many things happened and he watched as everything happened) and then he is again at the end. Give him something to do. He is called the “main” character after all. Don’t make him purely a witness or passenger in the story.
A story where a million things happen isn’t necessarily a good story. Slow it down. Let the main character’s feelings and thoughts emerge too so that the reader can feel something.
What should my story have?
- Main character
- Descriptions
- Dialogue
What will my story be judged on?
- Language
- Story
- Creativity
- Originality (don’t write a story that is the same as an anime you love)
Can I use tech tools to help me?
In all honesty, we cannot tell if you used a spell-checker. However, if it looks like it was plagiarised or there’s even a hint of AI on it (yes, we can smell it a mile away), you will be immediately disqualified. We won’t even inform you or ask you if you cheated. Have no doubt about this: Using AI and plagiarising are both cheating. We are against cheating.
When is the deadline?
Aug 30 at 11.59pm.
I have sent my entry in. How will I know if you received it?
You will get a reply, informing you that we have received your entry. If you do not get an email, please check or resend.
When will the results be out?
Sept 16.
Where can I check the results?
On Brigitte Rozario’s FB (https://www.facebook.com/brigitterozario.writerandeditor) and IG (https://www.instagram.com/brigitterozariowritereditor/).
Will I be informed of the results?
Only the winners will be notified. If you do not get an email from us, then you didn’t win anything.
Will I be able to read the winning entries?
Yes, not immediately, but after the competition results are out, the winning entries will be put up here: