The UAE Board on Books for Young People launches the 2026 Creative Writing Competition

2026/06/17 4:40:20 PM

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SHARJAH, 17 JUNE / WAM / The UAE Board on Books for Young People has launched the new session of the “Creative Writing Competition” for the year 2026, calling on children and young people in the UAE from the age of 6 to 18 years to engage in a creative experience that enriches their imagination and develops their writing abilities in the Arabic language, as part of the “Read, Dream, Create” campaign through which the Council continues to encourage new generations to express their ideas in literary works that reflect their creative energies and future aspirations.

The competition provides an interactive platform that allows participants to transform their daily thoughts and observations into innovative stories, which contributes to developing their linguistic and narrative skills, enhances the presence of the Arabic language in their creative experiences, and opens the way for emerging talents to discover their literary potential and build a deeper relationship with reading and writing as two means of expression, knowledge and creativity. Entries are divided into three age categories from 6 to 9 years, 10 to 13 years, and 14 to 18 years.

Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAE Council on Books for Young People, said: “We believe that every child has a story worth telling, and that providing spaces that encourage creativity and expression is a real investment in future generations. Through the Creative Writing Competition, we seek to enable children and young people to develop their literary voices and enhance their confidence in their ability to transform their ideas and imagination into written works that carry their own vision of the world.”

She stressed that over the past years, the competition has had a tangible impact in supporting young creatives, contributed to discovering promising talents and provided them with opportunities to develop and continue their literary career, noting that a number of participants in previous sessions were able to continue their passion for writing and turn it into real creative projects, which confirms the importance of cultural initiatives directed at new generations in building an incubating environment for creativity.

The period for receiving entries continues until July 31, 2026, provided that the stories submitted are in Arabic and are created by the participant himself, with the possibility of attaching illustrations supporting the text.