S.K. Ali is judging the First Page student writing challenge — and wants you to know less is more!
Bestselling YA author S.K. Ali is the judge of the 2025 First Page student writing challenge!
Ali's latest novel explores a different genre to everything she has done before — dystopian science fiction. In Fledgling: The Keeper's Records of Revolution, the first of a YA duology, two Earths are on the brink of self destruction.
The First Page student writing challenge asks students in Grades 7 to 12 from across Canada to write the first page of a speculative novel set 150 years in the future. The challenge tasks young writers with imagining how current world issues and trends will evolve in the next century.
The challenge will be accepting submissions until February 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
If you're looking for some advice to take your entry to the next level, Ali has some tips for you.
"Readers will enter your story more readily if they can see the first scene playing out clearly in their heads. However, to make this happen, write less, not more.
Instead of filling your page with how everything looks, cut all extra descriptions and be more precise with your word choices. - First Page judge S.K. Ali
"Instead of filling your page with how everything looks, cut all extra descriptions and be more precise with your word choices. Describe only the items or people the main character sees or interacts with. And attach a single specific, special detail to those things/people — for example, "blue metal door."
"Using the five senses helps when choosing words – i.e., using the word "metal" in the previous description connotes the door is cool to the touch. This will make the reader feel the main character's push on the aforementioned door."
Winners will receive...
A one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which sends fresh boxes of books to young readers across Canada on a monthly basis.
50 free YA books for their school library
You can read the complete rules and regulations here.
Last year's winners were Toronto's Anya Thadani in the Grades 7 to 9 category for Fixed and Kleefeld, Man's Hayley Peters in the Grades 10 to 12 for Forbidden Realities.
Keep reading for more details.
Download posters for your classrooms: in colour, black and white, or mobile-friendly version
WHAT YOU CAN WRITE: Your entry can be 300-400 words in length. The story could be from any literary genre, from mystery or thriller to literary fiction, from adventure or romance to satire or science fiction. Your entry also needs a title, but the title is not included in the word limit. Your entry can be written in any genre.
WHO CAN ENTER: This contest is open to all Canadian residents who are full-time students enrolled in Grades 7 to 12. Entries will be judged in two age categories: Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12.
PRIZES: The winner of each category will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which delivers monthly boxes of books and literary-related goodies. The school library of each winner will also receive a donation of 50 books.
WHEN YOU CAN SUBMIT: Feb. 1 to 28, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
TEACHER GUIDES: Visit Curio.ca Cory Doctorow, Linwood Barclay, Fonda Lee, Cherie Dimaline, Erin Bow, Katherena Vermette and M.G. Vassanji.
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CBC
19-02-2025
- CBC
S.K. Ali is judging the First Page student writing challenge — and wants you to know less is more!
Bestselling YA author S.K. Ali is the judge of the 2025 First Page student writing challenge! Ali's latest novel explores a different genre to everything she has done before — dystopian science fiction. In Fledgling: The Keeper's Records of Revolution, the first of a YA duology, two Earths are on the brink of self destruction. The First Page student writing challenge asks students in Grades 7 to 12 from across Canada to write the first page of a speculative novel set 150 years in the future. The challenge tasks young writers with imagining how current world issues and trends will evolve in the next century. The challenge will be accepting submissions until February 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET. If you're looking for some advice to take your entry to the next level, Ali has some tips for you. "Readers will enter your story more readily if they can see the first scene playing out clearly in their heads. However, to make this happen, write less, not more. Instead of filling your page with how everything looks, cut all extra descriptions and be more precise with your word choices. - First Page judge S.K. Ali "Instead of filling your page with how everything looks, cut all extra descriptions and be more precise with your word choices. Describe only the items or people the main character sees or interacts with. And attach a single specific, special detail to those things/people — for example, "blue metal door." "Using the five senses helps when choosing words – i.e., using the word "metal" in the previous description connotes the door is cool to the touch. This will make the reader feel the main character's push on the aforementioned door." Winners will receive... A one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which sends fresh boxes of books to young readers across Canada on a monthly basis. 50 free YA books for their school library You can read the complete rules and regulations here. Last year's winners were Toronto's Anya Thadani in the Grades 7 to 9 category for Fixed and Kleefeld, Man's Hayley Peters in the Grades 10 to 12 for Forbidden Realities. Keep reading for more details. Download posters for your classrooms: in colour, black and white, or mobile-friendly version WHAT YOU CAN WRITE: Your entry can be 300-400 words in length. The story could be from any literary genre, from mystery or thriller to literary fiction, from adventure or romance to satire or science fiction. Your entry also needs a title, but the title is not included in the word limit. Your entry can be written in any genre. WHO CAN ENTER: This contest is open to all Canadian residents who are full-time students enrolled in Grades 7 to 12. Entries will be judged in two age categories: Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12. PRIZES: The winner of each category will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which delivers monthly boxes of books and literary-related goodies. The school library of each winner will also receive a donation of 50 books. WHEN YOU CAN SUBMIT: Feb. 1 to 28, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET. TEACHER GUIDES: Visit Cory Doctorow, Linwood Barclay, Fonda Lee, Cherie Dimaline, Erin Bow, Katherena Vermette and M.G. Vassanji.
CBC
06-02-2025
- CBC
S.K. Ali is judging the First Page student writing challenge — and wants to offer you some advice!
Social Sharing S.K. Ali is a bestselling YA and children's writer. Her books include the YA novels Saints and Misfits, Love from A to Z and Love from Mecca to Medina. She has also ventured into children's books with her picture book The Proudest Blue and the middle-grade anthology she co-edited, Once Upon an Eid which won the Middle East Book Honor Award in 2020. She is the author of the brand new dystopian novel In Fledgling: The Keeper's Records of Revolution. It's the first of a YA duology, where two worlds are on the brink of self-destruction. Ali is also the judge of the 2025 First Page student writing challenge. The challenge will be accepting submissions until February 28, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Finalists from each category will be selected by a team of CBC readers. Finalists will be notified by email in the spring of 2025. The exact timing will depend on the number of submissions received. 7 writing tips for students entering the First Page writing challenge — from writers who know what it takes. When it was announced that Ali was judging the contest, Ali had some writing advice to offer students thinking of entering. "As a reader, I never judge a book by its cover. Instead, after locking eyes with the title — super important — I flip to the first page, my breath held in anticipation as I read — as I judge. "It's one of the best parts of being a reader and I can't believe I get the opportunity to peruse first pages from a new generation of pre-published authors! When I flip to the first page of a book, I'm looking for a few things such as: orientation, a hook, and flow. - S.K. Ali "When I flip to the first page of a book, I'm looking for a few things such as: orientation, a hook, and flow. Orientation: when I step into the story, do I know where I am, what I stepped into? A hook: is there something interesting going on? "And flow: is the scene clearly laid out for me to follow now that my curiosity has been activated?" Winners will receive... A one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which sends fresh boxes of books to young readers across Canada on a monthly basis. 50 free YA books for their school library You can read the complete rules and regulations here. Last year's winners were Toronto's Anya Thadani in the Grades 7 to 9 category for Fixed and Kleefeld, Man's Hayley Peters in the Grades 10 to 12 for Forbidden Realities. Keep reading for more details. Download posters for your classrooms: in colour, black and white, or mobile-friendly version WHAT YOU CAN WRITE: Your entry can be 300-400 words in length. The story could be from any literary genre, from mystery or thriller to literary fiction, from adventure or romance to satire or science fiction. Your entry also needs a title, but the title is not included in the word limit. Your entry can be written in any genre. WHO CAN ENTER: This contest is open to all Canadian residents who are full-time students enrolled in Grades 7 to 12. Entries will be judged in two age categories: Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12. PRIZES: The winner of each category will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which delivers monthly boxes of books and literary-related goodies. The school library of each winner will also receive a donation of 50 books. WHEN YOU CAN SUBMIT: Feb. 1 to 28, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET. TEACHER GUIDES: Visit Cory Doctorow, Linwood Barclay, Fonda Lee, Cherie Dimaline, Erin Bow, Katherena Vermette and M.G. Vassanji.
CBC
21-01-2025
- CBC
Bestselling YA author S.K. Ali to judge the 2025 First Page student writing challenge
Social Sharing Bestselling YA author S.K. Ali will judge the 2025 First Page student writing challenge! The First Page student writing challenge asks students in Grades 7 to 12 from across Canada to write the first page of a speculative novel set 150 years in the future. The challenge tasks young writers with imagining how current world issues and trends will evolve in the next century. The First Page competition is divided into two categories — one for Grades 7 to 9 students and one for Grades 10 to 12 students. Ali is mostly known for her thoughtful coming-of-age and romantic YA literature like Saints and Misfits, Love from A to Z, and Love from Mecca to Medina. She has also ventured into children's books with her picture book The Proudest Blue and the middle-grade anthology she co-edited, Once Upon an Eid which won the Middle East Book Honor Award in 2020. Ali's latest novel explores a different genre to everything she has done before — dystopian science fiction. In Fledgling: The Keeper's Records of Revolution, the first of a YA duology, two earths are on the brink of self destruction. When the dutiful Raisa of Upper Earth is arranged to be married to Lein, the Crown Prince of Lower Earth, Raisa obliges in the hopes of preventing further war. Lein's cousin and recently imprisoned Nada have a different idea: stop the royal wedding and spark a revolution. As tensions rise between both worlds, the paths to tyranny or peace become more and more blurred. As a YA author and former educator, Ali is excited to get a chance to read the writing of young writers from across Canada. "As a reader, I never judge a book by its cover. Instead, after locking eyes with the title — super important — I flip to the first page, my breath held in anticipation as I read — as I judge," Ali told CBC Books. I can't believe I get the opportunity to peruse first pages from a new generation of pre-published authors! - S.K. Ali "It's one of the best parts of being a reader and I can't believe I get the opportunity to peruse first pages from a new generation of pre-published authors!" Ali will choose the two winners from 10 finalists in the Grades 7 to 9 category and 10 finalists in the Grades 10 to 12 category. The winners will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, a monthly book delivery service, and will have their winning entry published on CBC Books. They will also receive 50 books for each of their school libraries. Last year's winners were Anya Thadani for her story Fixed and Hayley Peters for her story Forbidden Realities. WHAT YOU CAN WRITE: Your entry can be 300-400 words in length. Your entry also needs a title, but the title is not included in the word limit. Your entry can be written in any genre. WHO CAN ENTER: This contest is open to all Canadian residents who are full-time students enrolled in Grades 7 to 12. Entries will be judged in two age categories: Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12. PRIZES: The winner of each category will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which delivers monthly boxes of books and literary-related goodies. The school library of each winner will also receive a donation of 50 books. HOW TO SUBMIT: During the submission period, a link to an online entry form will be available on this page. We'll share more details about when and how to submit in early 2025.
