1. Overview

• Purpose: To encourage creativity and showcase talent of aspiring writers.
• Theme: please choose from one of the following themes:
  1. She opened the photo gallery on her mobile and smiled. His oval face, piercing eyes, and gleaming white teeth were what had attracted her in the first place. And of course, his fortune as a diamond dealer. Yes, she would miss ‘husband number 4’ who had died in suspicious circumstances, just as she missed husbands 1 to 3 who had died in equally suspicious ways. But she had long ago promised not to let emotions get in the way when Swiss bank accounts needed replenishing. The black widow always kills her mate: she thumbed through the financial press, certain there was another millionaire waiting to make her acquaintance.
  2. The airport departure lounge was packed with holidaymakers waiting flight calls for late summer getaways. Nobody noticed the elderly white-haired lady sitting alone, anxiously gazing at her passport. It was a forgery, of course, but she knew that in a few hours the bank where she had sacrificed the best years of her life as an unappreciated employee would discover her crime. She had meticulously planned her escape and smiled mischievously as she contemplated her revenge.
  3. The huge marlin crashed against the side of the flimsy boat drifting in the vast blue ocean. This was a fight to the death which the old fisherman could not afford to lose.
  4. It had taken him many hours of laboured breathlessness beneath the scorching sun to reach the mountain’s peak. He gazed at the landscape far below rolling out into infinity, its beauty and its wildness the perfection he’d sought all his life. He breathed in the fresh sweet air and smiled. He was finally at peace. He closed his eyes and jumped.
  5. He had come to the Maasai Mara as an uninvited guest, a rifle in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. But now, after empty and lonely days and the darkest of nights stalking the prey, the hunter had become the hunted. For the first time in his life, he was afraid.

2. Eligibility

• Open to all present University of Embu students.
• Entries must be original works not previously published or submitted elsewhere.
• Limit of one entry per person.

3. Story Requirements

• Length: Stories must be between 3000 up to 4000 words.
• Format:
  1. Typed, double-spaced.
  2. Font Times New Roman, 12 pt.
  3. Text justified on both sides.
  4. Include page numbers.
• Language: English.
• Title: Include a front page with the story title and a copyright-free picture illustrating one of the central themes in your story. Author’s name, and contact information (email and phone number) should be provided on the next page. The story then begins on the following page.

4. Submission Process

• Deadline: All entries must be submitted by midnight on 24th January 2025.
• How to Submit:
  • Submissions should be sent via the Yours2read website. You will need to register (free of charge) as an author first.
  • Your submission should end with the sentence: “short story competition, January 2025, University of Embu”.
• File Format: Submit entries as a PDF or Word document.

5. Judging Criteria

• Creativity and Originality: How original and innovative is the story?
• Plot Development: Is the story engaging and well-structured?
• Characterization: Are the characters well-developed and relatable?
• Writing Style: Is the language clear, vivid, and appropriate for the theme?
• Language usage: is the grammar and spelling of a high standard?
• Adherence to Theme: Does the story align with the selected theme?

6. Judging Process

• Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges with expertise in creative writing.
• The judges’ decision is final and will be based on the above criteria.

7. Prizes

• Cash prizes of USD400 for the winner and USD300 and USD100 for the first and second runner up.
• Publication and promotional opportunities on the Yours2read.com website for shortlisted manuscripts.
• Announcement:Winners will be announced two weeks after the submission date through the institution’s website, personal email and other social media platforms at our disposal..

8. Rights and Ownership

• All rights in the submitted stories remain with the author.
• By entering the competition, authors grant the organizers the right to publish their stories in promotional materials or on websites related to the competition, with appropriate credit given to the author.
• Further assistance: For inquiries, please contact Boniface Nyamweya - +254 752035439

9. Disqualification

• Entries that do not adhere to the guidelines will be disqualified.
• Any form of plagiarism or use of AI will result in immediate disqualification.

"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say."
— Anaïs Nin