Cape Town: The libraries’ creative writing competition is coming to a close. The competition is aimed at learners aged nine to thirteen and fourteen to seventeen. The competition ended on August 28, 2024.
Aspiring authors who have not yet submitted their stories were encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
The competition involved the task of writing a story about an environmental hero, either as a short or long story, graphic novel, picture book or novel.
Writing workshops were also held in many libraries to support the learners. The workshops were organized to give the learners the opportunity to acquire writing skills and better prepare themselves to participate in the competition.
According to reports, there were 60 submissions from 17 libraries. Stories can be submitted in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa without restrictions.
Specifically, the winning entries will be announced at the Open Book Festival on September 7, 2024. The winning stories will either be published or uploaded to the library service’s Libby app.
Many book clubs participated in the competition, including the Boundless Ambitious Bookworms of Mfuleni library, where all members submitted their stories.
Councillor Patricia Van der Ross, a member of the Mayor’s Committee for Community Services and Health, said libraries are continually developing new ways to reach different audiences and provide opportunities to realise their potential.
Councillor Patricia added that she would like to congratulate them on the writing competition and hopes that it will become more successful from year to year.
“I would like to thank the learners who have already submitted their entries and encourage others to get involved before the deadline. This was a great opportunity to develop writing skills and potentially win an award on a very big stage,” said Van der Ross.
Previously, the Hout Bay Library celebrated its 35th anniversary of serving the community on Wednesday, 7 August 2024. The library has eight dedicated staff members who look after the facility’s 1800 registered users.
Hout Bay has a successful track record of providing community services which include regular storytelling and reading programmes and literacy programmes in schools.
Users have access to SmartCape’s printing and copying services. In July, the library checked out 3,682 items.
