Two prolific award-winning writers have shown they have not lost their taste for telling riveting tales by scooping their first victories in the fourth series of Bahrain’s favourite short story competition.

Indian expatriate Nivedita Roy has picked up the BD25 monthly prize for her May thriller entitled The Enchanted Castle which has attracted 2,000 views on our sister social media platform www.gdnlife.com.

The 52-year-old teacher says her entry was inspired by the various news coverage in the GDN on the subject of human trafficking: “Thanks a lot GDN and thank you to the judges,” she said. “Contributing and interacting on GDNlife is a great experience in itself.”

Married to Allen, general manager of a Bahrain-based company, the couple has two children, Aanya, 26, and Alex, 22, and live in Adliya.

“This is my third success and I’m absolutely thrilled,” she added. “What wonderful news from my favourite newspaper!

“The story itself is inspired by the news articles on human trafficking in GDN. The story was built up further during the national poetry writing month prompts given by a very elite group of poets in India – The Significant League.

“I’m working on my fourth book and this story will be a part of it.”

The Enchanted Castle impressed our panel of judges. One of them, author and poet Rohini Sunderam, from Bahrain Writers Circle, said: “I liked the slow build-up of fear. Well done. I particularly liked this phrase … ‘the surrounding moat of her stained life’.

“It was a good topic too, very much the issue of the day.”

Talented teenager Tanisha Biswas has just celebrated her 15th birthday and picks up a pair of prize Cineco Cinema tickets for her latest entry What’s the Crime?

This is her sixth success in the monthly U18 contest which we first launched in 2020 and she has honed her writing skills and developed a big following.

Any more successes and the cinema company may have to engrave her name on one its seats! Her latest entry is a dark tale of bullying and family dynamics with a twist.

“A very intriguing story Tanisha with an unexpected ending. Very imaginative work, well done!” said judge Chris Fenton, head teacher of the British Primary Department at Al Noor International School.

She started writing stories when she was nine years old. The Bangladeshi expatriate who lives in Tubli with her parents and brother, told the GDN, that her first story was a mystery inspired by a film she had watched and her mum found the notebook where she was writing it down and encouraged her to continue ... and she hasn’t stopped since.

“I’m extremely delighted to win again and for the first time in the fourth season of the contest. Thank you so much GDNLife for granting me this opportunity.

“It will inspire me to continue my writing. I am grateful to ‘GDNLife’ for publishing my short stories and also grateful to all the readers who appear to enjoy them.”

You could follow in her footsteps. Keen writers in Bahrain are being offered the chance to publish their work too on Bahrain’s sensational social media platform in this exciting GDNlife prize competition.

Adult wordsmiths compete for a monthly BD25 prize and one talented child will walk away with a pair of Cineco Cinema movie tickets.

Winning stories, of no more than 800 words, will then compete for an annual GDNlife Short Story of the Year prize trophy next March ... 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.

For the adult competition (18 and over) GDNlife has teamed up with the Bahrain Writers Circle, to judge the entries.

The children’s category (up to 17), also open to locals and expats, will be judged by a team of English teachers and GDNlife administrators.

The competition is now open for June entries. Simply write your short story of no more than 800 words and post it in the SHORT STORY section of www.GDNlife.com after registering on the platform. Clearly state the category: Adult or U18.

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, age and age category.

Get writing … you could be a winner!

For more details, visit the short story section of www.gdnlife.com or email managingeditor@gdnmedia.bh

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