The Oxford University Press Story Writing Competition 2027 by the Emirates Literature Foundation returns with a new theme: Heroes.*
This year, we are asking a simple question: what does a hero look like to you?
Heroes are not always found in stories or great adventures. They usually appear in small decisions, difficult choices, or simple acts of kindness.
It might be someone who chooses to do the brave thing even in a moment of pressure. Or someone who shows up every day, consistently. It might even be someone who does not realise they are a hero at all.
As you start writing, don’t feel like you have to define a hero in one way. Think about the many ways a hero can be and the stories that come from that.
We can’t wait to meet the heroes you imagine and the worlds you build around them.
*Please note that “hero” is used here as a gender-neutral term.
How the Competition Works
Write your story, using your imagination and creativity to the full, but do remember that the theme is heroes.
- You may choose your own title, provided it aligns with the theme.
- Complete all sections of the online entry, attaching your story as a ‘Word’ document.
- Stories should be submitted in a legible font, size 12 point, 1.5 line spacing.
- Entries can be in Arabic or in English. To submit your story in Arabic, click here.
- You should submit under the appropriate age category, which relates to your age by 10 December 2026. Please note the word limit for each category:
- Ages 11 and under (maximum of 500 words)
- Ages 12-14 (maximum of 1000 words)
- Ages 15-18 (maximum of 1500 words)
- Artwork/photos are not required.
What are the judges looking for?
As the judges are reading your stories and deciding who will be the winners, here are a few things they look at:
- Creative Content
- Original Ideas
- Emotional Impact
- Compelling Plot
- Memorable Characters
- Sound Editing
- Theme and Spirit of the Competition
Top Tips
Creating a story is exciting but you may need some help along the way –even the greatest authors can sometimes find writing challenging. You will find some tools below that can be your companions on your creative journey.
- For some more advice on how to write an effective short story please watch our story writing workshop with author and illustrator Leigh Hodgkinson*, below.
Key Dates
EVENTS | DATES |
| Registration Opens | 9 June 2026 |
| Registration Closes | 10 December 2026 |
| Winners’ Announcement | February 2027 |
| Prize Giving Ceremony | April 2027 |
Prizes
The winners from each age category will receive:
- Winner’s Plaque
- Five copies of the winner’s anthology of published stories (A PDF version of the book will be available on our website to download and share).
- Free ticket/pass to attend a session/s at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2027.
Winning Entries
The Emirates Literature Foundation is proud of all our outstanding young writers.
Terms and Conditions
- Participants must be full-time students in a school (or homeschool).
- Participants are welcome from the UAE and all of GCC (including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait)*. *Winners must be prepared to attend the Prize Giving Ceremony in Dubai at their own expense.
- The competition is open to students of all abilities.
- Please submit one story per student.
- Stories should be no longer than the word limit (entries exceeding more than 10 percent of the word limit assigned for each age group will be disqualified).
- Stories should be unpublished and not previously submitted to any other competition.
- Copyright of material submitted remains with the Emirates Literature Foundation.
- Do not submit work as your own when part of or all of it has been done by someone else; this includes material found online. It must be entirely your own work, and any stories found to contain non-original content will be excluded.
- Stories submitted to this competition must not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. Entries containing AI-generated content will be disqualified.
- The winning participants agree to the Emirates Literature Foundation’s and Emirates Airline Festival of Literature’s use of their name and photographs/videos in relation to related publicity material and activities. Schools and students should be aware that they may need to obtain parental consent for this.
- Entries must be received before the closing date, 11:59 PM on 10 December 2026.
- Judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into with regard to these decisions.
- No part of the prize is exchangeable for cash or any other prize.
- The prize will not be transferable to another person.
- Participation in the competition is not open to employees (and/or members of their immediate families) of the Emirates Literature Foundation.
In accordance with normal conventions for writing competitions internationally, entries which do not adhere to the said terms and conditions will not be considered.
Register Here!
All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation upon submitting their stories.
Contact Us
If you have queries regarding the Oxford University Press Story Writing Competition, please email:
Aira Anupol:
