2026 Blue Kite Creative Writing Contest
The 2026 Blue Kite Creative Writing Contest invites middle and high school students enrolled in international or domestic schools across Korea to submit an original piece of writing — either a personal narrative or a fictional story.
We welcome all forms of creative expression grounded in your voice and imagination, whether drawn from real-life experience or entirely invented. What matters most is the story only you can tell.
Personal Essay
- or -
Short Story
A nonfiction prose narrative that reflects your real experiences, thoughts, or identity. Whether it’s a moment of growth, cultural tension, or personal realization, we’re looking for honest, voice-driven storytelling rooted in your lived reality.
A fictional narrative that brings characters, conflict, and imagination to life. Your story can be realistic or fantastical—what matters is strong voice, emotional depth, and a clear sense of movement or transformation.
Submissions will be judged in two separate categories:
Middle School Division
High School Division
Five Selected entries from each division will be published in Blue Kite Publishing’s inaugural print anthology, a collection that captures the depth, creativity, and diversity of student voices growing up across cultures.
This is more than a contest — it’s your chance to be published, celebrated, and remembered.
Note from the Editorial Board:
While the contest is an English creative writing contest, Blue Kite Publishing also welcomes student from multicultural homes whose primary language is not English. For the 2026 contest year, we are accepting submissions originally written in Korean and subsequently translated into English. When you submit your work, please include a note at top of the writing that clearly states the translator used, as well as including your original work in Korean at the bottom. While we do look for literary skills and abilities, your story matters too. If chosen, you will be assigned a bilingual editor through our Scholarship program to produce the most polished English translation of your work to be published.
This year's theme is
"Between and Beyond"
This year’s theme invites writers to explore the spaces they inhabit — between cultures, languages, homes, identities, or even moments in time. Whether you’ve lived between cities, moved across school systems, switched tongues mid-sentence, or felt the quiet tension of not quite fitting in, we want to hear how you’ve navigated those in-between spaces — and what you’ve found beyond them.
“Between & Beyond” is about transition, complexity, and the stories that live outside the margins. We encourage students to interpret the theme broadly, whether through personal reflection or fictional worlds.
Contest Rules
1. Eligibility
Open to all middle and high school students currently enrolled in schools in South Korea.
Submissions must be the student’s original work, written in English
Middle School:
International Calendar: Entering 7th or 8th grade in Fall of 2025.
Korean Calendar: Entering 중1 or 중2 in Spring 2026 & Entered 중3 in Spring 2025.
High School:
International Calendar: Entering 9th through 12th grade in Fall of 2025.
Korean Calendar: Entering 고1 through 고3 in Spring 2026 & Entered 고3 in Spring 2025.
2. Categories
You may submit one entry per category.
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Submissions must be original, unpublished, and not submitted elsewhere, including for school assignments or other contests
3. Theme
All submissions must respond to this year’s theme:
“Between & Beyond”
We encourage broad and creative interpretations.
4. Formatting
Guidelines
Submit your work as a .docx or PDF file.
12 pt font, Times New Roman or similar.
Double spaced for essays and stories.
No identifying information (name, school, etc.) on the manuscript itself — submissions will be reviewed anonymously.
5. Submission Process
Submit via our official LINK.
Deadline: February 15, 2026
Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered.
A 20,000 WON fee will be collected to support editorial and printing costs (details in submission form).
6. Selection &
Notification
All entries will be reviewed by at least two editorial board members.
Winners will be chosen based on voice, originality, emotional resonance, and craft.
10 total works (five per category) will be selected for publication.
Additional honorable mentions will be selected at the editorial board's discretion.
Winners will be notified no later than March 15th, 2026, and invited to a launch event in summer.
7. Publication Rights
Selected works will appear in Blue Kite Publishing’s 2026 Anthology.
Authors retain full copyright; we request first publication rights only.
By submitting, students agree to allow their work to be edited in collaboration with our editorial board.