THE power of parenting and a schoolgirl’s imagination, with an expatriate twist, proved decisive with the judges of GDNLife’s popular short story writing competition.

Dr Uneb Gazder, holder of a PhD in the field of civil engineering with a specialisation in transportation planning, steered his way to success with You reap what you sow and the BD25 prize for January.

And little schoolgirl Elle Lamb charmed her way to glory with a delightful mystery about Kitty & Cat she penned when she was only eight-years-old and picks up a pair of movie tickets, courtesy of Cineco Cinema.

“I would also like to thank the GDNLife and online team for providing opportunities to writers like me, and to the jury members who selected my story as the winner,” said Dr Gazder, 39, a Pakistani expatriate from the city of Karachi.

“I live in A’ali and came to Bahrain in 2016 to work as an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Bahrain.

“I’m completely overwhelmed with joy for being judged as adult winner of the short story of the month contest. I came to know about GDNLife.com through some of my friends who were contributing in different ways on this platform.

“I have written some stories, poems and articles earlier which received good feedback.

“The topic of my story was something close to my heart – the love of parents. We, including myself, take our parents’ love and compassion, towards us, for granted. I feel that they do not get the due respect and love from us in return. Even then, they keep on sacrificing for us as much as they can. Hence, this story was a tribute to all those parents.”

Those sentiments certainly impressed judge Rohini Sunderam, from Bahrain Writers Circle, who described it as a ‘strong emotional story’ which has already attracted an audience of more than 1,000.

“The father’s shock and numbness at his son’s angry words force him to think back over his years of dedication as a father but then they unravel, as he recalls, his own youth,” she added.

Elle, who has now turned nine, is an American expatriate, who loves to write and has lived in the kingdom almost all of her life. More than 3,200 visitors to www.gdnlife.com have already read her story.

The Bahrain School pupil, who lives with her family in Adliya, is ‘overjoyed’ about winning the U18 contest and said: “It makes me feel even more creative! My mum’s job brought my family to Bahrain in 2014, two weeks before I turned one.”

Judge Chris Fenton, head teacher of the British Primary Department at Al Noor International School, was full of praise for her entry and offered a few writing tips.

“Well done, Elle on your charming story,” he said.

“I hope to see some more Kitty & Cat mysteries over the coming months.

“Don’t forget to use describing words to give the reader more information about your characters and your plot. A wonderful first attempt though!”

Writers in Bahrain are being offered the chance to publish their work on Bahrain’s sensational social media platform in an exciting GDNlife prize competition ... and this month’s entrants will have the last chance of winning the annual accolades as the contest celebrates its second anniversary.

Winning stories, of no more than 800 words, also compete for an annual GDNlife Short Story of the Year prize trophy … and even entries that do not win the judges’ approval could still walk away with an accolade - The GDNlife People’s Choice Award - for receiving the most views and likes.

“All writers dream of having their work published and our community platform offers a unique opportunity for them to shine and win prizes!” said GDN Managing Editor Stanley Szecowka.

The competition is now open.

Simply write your short story of no more than 800 words and post it in the SHORT STORY section of GDNlife after registering on the platform. Clearly state the category: adult or U18.

Winners will be announced early every month on the platform, in print and online. The annual trophy winners will be announced in March.

All entries submitted will be considered, so if your entry does not win this month, it may take a prize in the future.

Please choose an image to highlight your words and title your piece Short Story Entry with your name and age category.

Get writing … you could be a winner!

• For more details visit the short story section of www.gdnlife.com or email editor@gdnonline.com