Bukmuk Publishing · Press · Vol. I

The Inter-School Short Story Writing Championship

Mentor-led creative writing workshops at the school, then a championship where the best young writers become published authors. Open to ages 6 to 17.

Enter a story Bring it to my school

Free for partner schoolsCloses 15 September 2026, 12 pm IST

Published authors

₹15,000

Cash prizes

Printed anthology

Days left to enter

01 What this is

Bukmuk has worked in children’s literature for eleven years. Bukmuk Publishing is the publishing arm. We take stories written by children aged 6 to 17 and publish them as real physical books with an ISBN, listed on Amazon in India and worldwide.

The championship runs in three parts. Our mentors run a creative writing workshop at the school. The children write a story and submit it. The ten best stories in each age group, thirty in all, go into a printed anthology.

The promise

Every child who enters receives an eCertificate. Every child who is published receives a physical certificate of international publication, two author copies, literary gifts, and their own author page on bukmukpublishing.com.

02 The three themes

Ages 6 to 8

Whispers of the Wild

300 to 600 words

A story where nature holds the magic. Forests, oceans, animals, wild places.

Ages 9 to 11

Twisted Fairytales

600 to 1,000 words

Take a fairytale everyone knows and turn it upside down. The villain might be the hero.

Ages 12 to 17

Dystopia Hopepunk

1,000 to 1,500 words

A world that has gone wrong, and a young person who finds the light in it anyway.

Each age group writes to its own theme, so a story is only ever judged against others written by children the same age.

03 What the published authors get

·The story printed in an anthology with a real ISBN, sold in India and internationally
·A physical certificate of international publication
·Two author copies of the book
·A share of ₹15,000 in cash prizes across the three age groups
·An author page on bukmukpublishing.com/authors
·A book launch event

New Delhi World Book Fair 2027

The anthology goes on display at the fair, with the name of every participating school printed in it.

04 Enter a story

If the school gave you a registration code, entry is free. Without one it is ₹299 per story. A child may enter more than one story, as long as each is in a different theme.

Step 1 · Your school

School code (if your school gave you one)

Leave this blank if you do not have one. Entry is then ₹299.

Step 2 · The young writer

Child’s full name

Age

Open to ages 6 to 17.

School

Class

Step 3 · The story

Theme

Enter the child’s age and we will show their theme.

Each age group writes to its own theme, so every story competes fairly against its own age.

Story title

Word count

The story file

Choose the story file

Word document or PDF, up to 10 MB

Step 4 · Parent or guardian

Your name

Mobile

The eCertificate and all updates go here.

Address for the certificate and gifts

Instagram (optional, so we can tag you)

Step 5 · Two declarations

This story was written entirely by the child, with no AI tools used to write or edit it.I am the parent or guardian, and if the story is selected I agree to it being published in the anthology with the child’s first name, age and school. I accept the terms and privacy policy.

₹299 per story. Free if your school is taking part.

05 For schools

Bring it to your school.

Partner schools get a complimentary creative writing workshop, run by our mentors either in person or online, and their own registration code that takes away the entry fee for every parent.

·A complimentary creative writing workshop at the school
·Free participation for every student through your code
·Your school's name printed beside each of its published authors
·A participating schools page in the anthology
·The Bukmuk Shield for the school with the most published authors

Already a partner school? See your school’s entries.

Prefer to talk? WhatsApp us on +91 81302 86286 or write to [email protected].

06 Before you enter

·The story must be written entirely by the child.
·No AI tools may be used to write or edit it. We may ask to see drafts.
·The child enters the theme that matches their age.
·Keep to the word count for that theme.
·Send the story as a Word document or a PDF, up to 10 MB.
·Entries close 15 September 2026, 12 pm IST.
·The jury's decision is final.

Entry fee

₹299

Per story, paid securely by UPI, card or net banking. Free for students of partner schools using their school code.

Read the terms, refund and privacy policy.