Playtimes HK Magazine October 2017 Issue | Page 67

The Hong Kong Young Writers Awards 2018 Playtimes magazine invites schools to register to enter the ninth-annual HKYWA I ntroducing an exciting opportunity for all budding writers, artists and filmmakers!! Does your child have a creative and extraordinary artistic ability that should be showcased for all to see? The Hong Kong Young Writers Awards 2018 (HKYWA) offers young people the opportunity to participate in a regional creative competition to win a variety of prizes and even the chance to be published!! Primary and Secondary school students are invited to use their creativity and imagination to engage with this year’s topic New Journey’s to the West. Original pieces of Fiction, Poetry, Non-Fiction, Cover Art and Digital Storytelling will be accepted and assessed by our panel of judges during this academic year. Over 100 top entries will be published in an anthology and recognised at our awards ceremony in March 2018. Every school in Hong Kong has been sent an invitation to register, so please get in touch with your English, Film Studies or Media teacher to make sure your school can be involved this year! - Playtimes is thrilled to sponsor the awards for Different Learning Abilities. We can’t wait to review this year’s exceptional and innovative submissions! Sponsors New Journeys to the West Almost 1400 years ago, a brave young monk made a multi-year journey from China across the southwestern mountains to India. His trip was celebrated in a novel called Journey to the West, written about 500 years ago. In the novel version of the tale, the young monk, whose name is Xuanzang, is accompanied by magical companions, including the Monkey King, a friar and a talking pig. The odd group of friends battle strange monsters and suffer hardships, before learning that overcoming difficulties is necessary for the monk to find true spiritual fulfilment. But the true story on which the novel is based is also remarkable. The real life Xuanzang travelled for years and found a magical community of learning in India called Nalanda – which historians believe might be the first campus university in human history. So Journey to the West is really two collections of tales – one from the novelist’s imagination, and one from history. And it also launched a fascinating literary character. In real life, the monk learned about an Indian god called Hanuman. In the novel, we meet the Monkey King, a creature with magical powers who is mischievous but ultimately on the side of good. Media Partner Search Investment Group Venue Sponsor Organiser Budding authors and artists must register through their school before 31st October 2017. Every school must send a completed registration form to [email protected]. For more details go to www.hkywa.com Ocean Park