A panel of  judges drawn from educational institutions, published authors and Hong Kong independent publishing houses will select the winning entries.

School and student names will be removed from all the entries submitted to the judges so that judging process would be fair.

All entries will be judged against the following six criteria: imagination, verbal skills, originality, style, technical accuracy, and intangible magic.

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We look for imagination:

Has the writer created living, breathing characters in a compelling storyline? Does the tale wrap up its plot threads in a satisfying way? 20 per cent.

We look for verbal skills:

Is the text interesting, thoughtful, and appropriate, showing good judgment in the choice of words and development of the plot? 20 per cent.

We look for originality:

While we allow children to use popular children’s literature scenarios, such as school stories, pony stories, fairy stories, and so on, we still ask: does the story feel new, fresh and unexpected? 15 per cent.

We look for style:

Does the writer have a distinctive voice, a consistent tone, and palpable confidence in the way his or her material is delivered? 10 per cent.

We look for technical accuracy:

Has the writer shown that she / he has paid attention to spelling, punctuation, grammar and related items? Have the guidelines on word length and similar factors been followed? 15 per cent.

We look for intangible magic:

Since good short stories are always greater than the sum of their parts, we examine the overall reading experience: was it enjoyable, transformative, memorable? 20 per cent.

by Nury Vittachi, December 2009