A schoolboy’s crime thriller enthralled judges of the popular GDNlife.com monthly short story contest and it has already attracted more than 2,600 views on our popular social media platform.
Eleven-year-old Shaurya Saxena conjured up a cool character called Detective Henry and took readers on an epic journey featuring the teenage sleuth’s murderous Cairo assignment.
The reaction from fans has encouraged the Bahrain Indian School pupil even more with comments posted on the site including ‘wow’ and ‘the writer shows a skillset of becoming a pro in the upcoming years’ and ‘amazing’.
The delighted Indian expatriate lives with his parents, international business development manager Akhil Kishore and Swati Srivastava and three-year-old sister Kimaayra, near Budaiya. “Being judged as the latest winner will drive me to take my passion of story-telling even more seriously and encourage me to better discover the writer within myself,” said Shaurya.
“I was inspired by my teachers, who always try to encourage good habits of reading and writing and always push us not to have any fear of failing.
“I would also like to thank the management of GDNLife. Being judged a winner is very motivating and it means a lot to me.”
Judge Chris Fenton, head teacher of the British primary department at Al Noor International School, said that Detective – the first case was impressive.
“An intriguing, suspenseful mystery with an unexpected twist at the end!” he added. “Great work, Shaurya!”
The U18 winner for December will pick up a pair of prize Cineco cinema tickets and will be hoping to follow in the successful footsteps of our adult category winner.
Zahra Bandukwala picks up the BD25 monthly prize for her moving tale entitled If Only that has attracted more than 2,300 views on our social media platform.
“It’s very moving and well-written,” said author and judge Rohini Sunderam from Bahrain Writers Circle.
“I particularly liked how the author took us through the stages and ages of the main character’s growth and realisation,” she said. “I was almost moved to tears.”
The judges were delighted with the young writer’s development.
She twice picked up prizes for her entries at the junior level, firstly as a 15-year-old with Perceptions which was described by judges as ‘very well done’ and ‘deeply reflective’, followed one year later with ‘an interesting, thought-provoking piece’ called The Clockmaker.
“I’m so excited to have won and am grateful for this opportunity to showcase my writing on your esteemed platform,” the now 18-year-old Ms Bandukwala said.
“I regularly enjoy experimenting with different genres and different styles of writing based on what I have currently read and this short story was an attempt to try something new.”
You could be a winner too! Join the many keen writers of all ages grabbing the chance to publish their work on Bahrain’s popular social media platform for a monthly and annual prize.
As a result of the contest’s success there is now a special exclusive Short Story section on www.gdnlife.com for visitors to enjoy.
In March, our panel of judges will decide on who should walk away with the annual GDNLife Short Story of the Year prize plaques in both categories.
The winner of the GDNLife People’s Choice Award – the short story that has received the most views and likes – will also be announced.
More January entries would be welcomed, so get writing up to 800 words today! Register, choose an image, create a title, paste and copy your words in text – and submit to share your work on www.gdnlife.com – clearly stating Adult or U18 entry.
managingeditor@gdnmedia.bh
