Hong Kong Young Writers Awards
Hong Kong Young Writers Awards (HKYWA) is an annual competition for students aged 6 to 18 that encourages and recognizes outstanding performance in English writing and artistic works. Since its establishment in 2010, the competition has been a great success, receiving over 1,200 entries from approximately 200 participating schools from Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China in 2023.
Interested in the competition?
Competition Overview
Students aged 6 to 18
Eligibility
Free
Entry fee
November 1, 2025 - January 16, 2026
Submission Deadline
📌 Note: Aralia is not the organizer of this competition. For official rules, deadlines, and updates, please refer directly to the competition organizer. Aralia provides listings and information about competitions for student reference. Aralia is an online education platform offering competition preparation classes to students worldwide.
Competition Details
1. Eligibility
Students have to be in a registered school in Hong Kong, China, and Macau. No individual submissions. The school list can be found here.
Submission Categories:
- Literary
- Cover Art
The Cover Art category is open to Primary schools and students with Different Learning Abilities.
2. Theme
New Tales of China’s Silk Road: Over 2,200 years ago, Chinese travelers journeyed west to sell silk, sparking a trade route that connected Europe and China’s Chang’an, then the largest city in the world. The Silk Road became a vital channel for exchanging foods, inventions, art, and ideas, remaining active for over 1,500 years before disappearing in the mid-1400s. Revived in 2013, it has grown into the largest international trade project in history, involving 150 countries.
Students are invited to write a creative or reflective piece inspired by the Silk Road.
3. Award Categories and Word Limits (only applies to Fiction and Non-Fiction; Poetry doesn’t have a word limit)
Primary School:
- Year 1-3 in school (HKYWA Group 1): Up to 500 words
- Year 4-6 in school (HKYWA Group 2): Up to 1000 words
Secondary School:
- Year 7-9 in school (HKYWA Group 3): Up to 1000 words
- Year 10-11 in school (HKYWA Group 4): Up to 3000 words
- Year 12-13 in school (HKYWA Group 5): Up to 3000 words
Different Learning Abilities School (age 13-18): No limit
4. Prizes
One winner will be chosen in each of the Literary and Cover Art award categories, and one student will be named the Hong Kong Young Writer of 2026.
Certificates will be awarded to all students whose work is shortlisted, and digital certificates will be provided to all participants.
Submission Details
1. General Entry Rules
Language: All entries must be in English (except for one category in Chinese Poetry introduced in 2024).
Entry Limit: One literary OR cover art entry per student.
Originality: Submissions must be original and unpublished work by the student.
Judging Criteria: Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, structure, language, and relevance to the theme.
2. Submission Rules
- Literary: The Word document must be 10 point Times New Roman and have single line word spacing
- Cover Art: A3 size, portrait orientation
