At Campfire, we believe that every child deserves the chance to express themselves freely, but that quite often there are no opportunities to do this. And so, this year we launched a competition which aims to discover and reward the most talented young writers in the country – Campfire Young Writer of the Year. Through this competition every student who participated, regardless of ability, was empowered to take control of their own creativity.
This pan-India contest, in its inaugural year, received over 5,000 entries from children across the country. Anyone in classes V to IX were invited to participate, and when the competition is repeated for 2013 Campfire is expecting to receive at least double the number of entries.
The editorial staff at Campfire enjoyed reading every single story that was submitted. But, of course, some particularly good entries were received, and there were some winners…
And so, the title of Campfire Young Writer of the Year 2012 goes to Sahir D’Souza from Class VIII, Shishuvan School, Mumbai.
Congratulations go out to Sahir who will be awarded with an iPad and the coveted Campfire Young Writer of the Year trophy. And if that wasn’t enough, he will also get the opportunity to see his story (The Spirit and the Tree) in print.
Sahir, along with the four other all-India class winners, will have their stories adapted into the graphic novel format by Campfire and published as a compilation.
And the all-India class winners for 2012 are:
Class V – Arohi Purnaye from GG International School, Pune
Class VI – Madirekshana Chakraborty from Step by Step School, Noida
Class VII – Rohit Rao from Prakriya Green Wisdom School, Bangalore
Class VIII (and overall winner) – Sahir D’Souza from Shishuvan School, Mumbai
Class IX – Tanuj Lalwani – Inventure Academy, Bangalore
Should you want to contact any of these children to interview them, please get in touch with Andy using the details below.
In addition to the class winners mentioned here, Campfire has also announced one runner up for each class, and has named 24 participants who submitted outstanding entries. All these children will receive prizes, and their details can be seen here –
Campfire has arranged three awards ceremonies, which will take place across India, to allow as many of the winners to attend as possible. The press, children and school representatives are all welcome. And the details are here:
Delhi Ceremony :
6:00pm, Saturday 1st September
Auditorium, Hall Number 8,
Pragati Maidan
Bangalore Ceremony :
Saturday 8th September
Comic Con Express,
Koramangala Stadium
Mumbai Ceremony :
Saturday 20th October
Mumbai Film & Comic Con,
World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade
For more information about Campfire Young Writer of the Year, please contact Andy on 9871031063 or andrew@campfire.co.in