Eventful World: Making an IMPAC on Teenagers Around the World
The IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is one of the world’s best-known accolades for writers, but what is less well-known is its IMPAC Young Writers Award competition which takes place annually in Finland, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, Thailand and Connecticut, recognizing local, regional and national winners in these different countries–and in one of the United States.
Young writers between the ages of 14 and 18 are invited to write a story or essay in English that is no more than 1500 words. The winning writer is given a trip to Dublin, where the winner and one of her–or his– parents attend the IMPAC Dublin Literery Awards ceremony, which this year will be held on the eleventh of June.
In Thailand, a national winner is chosen annually, along with three regional winners. This year’s national winner, chosen this month, is a sixteen-year-old girl from Bangkok, Paphawi Leksakundilok, whose winning story, “Once Upon a Time”, offers an imaginative and poetic look at a world irrevocably transformed by climate change.
Approximately 900 Thai teenagers submitted pieces of creative writing in English to compete for this award, which is one that deserves more recognition than it receives. Begun in Litchfield, Connecticut in 1998, the competition is intended to foster writing skills in the English language on a global level by working in partnership with national organizations who will encourage participation and honor participants within their own countries.
March 26th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
It’s wonderful to learn about IMPAC’s international competition for young writers. I found Paphawi’s story moving and thought-provoking.
March 27th, 2009 at 1:50 am
Ditto Aline’s comment. Thank you for telling us about this award – you’re right, it does deserve to be better known. It is humbling to read Paphawi’s story – I certainly couldn’t begin to put together a sentence in Thai, let alone a compelling story. I think it’s going to be with me for the rest of the day.