National Young Authors Challenge 2.0
Your Chance to Become a Published Author with Penguin Random House
Final Deadline
Write at Your Pace
Detailed Pricing Below
Welcome to the National Young Authors Challenge 2.0
One of the Biggest Creative Writing Competition Returns - Two Penguin India Books Featuring Top 100 Stories from Grades 5–12.
Your Story Could Become a Published Book
Every great author begins with a single story.
Following the success of its inaugural edition, the National Young Authors Challenge returns as NYAC 2.0 - bigger, more inclusive, and with an even greater opportunity for young writers to see their work published by Penguin Random House.
This year, the challenge expands to students from Grades 5–12, with entries evaluated in two separate categories to ensure age-appropriate judging.
Two Categories. Two Books. 100 Young Authors Published.
Registrations Now Open!
Recognition & Awards
Two Categories. Two Books. 100 Young Authors Published.
Grades 5–8
The Top 50 stories from this category will be selected for publication in a dedicated Penguin Random House book featuring young authors from Grades 5–8.
Theme:
What If?
Write an original story that begins with a problem. What if a character embarked on an unexpected adventure, set out to solve a mystery, discovered a secret, entered a strange place, faced a fear or encountered a challenge?
Your story can be funny, adventurous, light-hearted, emotional, futuristic, mysterious or realistic. What matters is the problem, how the character deals with it, and the journey to the end.
Grades 9–12
The Top 50 stories from this category will be selected for publication in a separate Penguin Random House book featuring young authors from Grades 9–12.
Theme:
At the Crossroads
Every character reaches a moment when they find themselves in an unwanted or unexpected situation.
Write an original short story about dealing with a circumstance and the choices that follow. The crossroads could be personal, emotional, moral, social, technological or environmental. It may involve family, friendship, ambition, identity, courage, climate, AI, belonging, truth, loss, love or the future. Your story should show what is at stake, why the moment matters, and what results from the character’s choice or action.
That means two books, 100 published young authors, and an international platform for some of world’s most promising young storytellers.
The stories will be evaluated through a structured judging process involving Penguin authors, giving students the opportunity to have their writing considered by experienced professionals from the world of publishing.
Pricing that scales with your submissions
Register early to lock in the lower rate. Pricing is per delegate, based on the number of submissions.
| PRICING | 1 SUBMISSION | 2 SUBMISSIONS | 3 SUBMISSIONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird Pricing | AED 75 | AED 140 | AED 210 |
| Regular Pricing | AED 120 | AED 235 | AED 350 |
School Delegation: 20+ entries — AED 50 per entry
National Young Authors Challenge 2.0
Requirements & Guidelines
Story Requirements
- The submission must be a short story written in English.
- The story must be original fiction.
- The story must be previously unpublished and not submitted for publication elsewhere.
- The story must be written entirely by the student.
- The maximum word limit is 700 words, excluding the title.
- Entries exceeding the word limit may be disqualified.
- The story must be suitable for the student’s age category.
- The story should have a clear beginning, middle and end.
- Poems, memoirs, fan fiction, scripts, reports and non-fiction pieces will not be accepted.
Formatting Guidelines
- Submit the story as a Word document or PDF.
- All entries must be submitted using the following naming format: Name_Grade_Story[Number]. Example: AaravSharma_8_Story1
- Use A4 page size.
- Use Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri.
- Font size: 12 pt.
- Line spacing: 1.5.
- Use black text only.
- Do not include images, illustrations, maps or decorative formatting.
- The title should appear at the top of the first page.
Glimpses of Last Year’s Live Award Ceremony
Your Journey from Writer to Published Author with Penguin Random House
Every story starts with an idea.
A character. A world. A question. An emotion. A moment you can't stop thinking about.
Take that idea and turn it into a story that is uniquely yours.
Submit your original short story and put your writing on a national platform alongside young storytellers from across the world.
Your imagination is your starting point. Your voice is what makes the story yours.
Every registered participant will have the opportunity to participate in a 2-day online writing bootcamp with Penguin authors and editors.
Learn directly from publishing professionals and gain insights into storytelling, writing, editing, and what goes into creating compelling work.
Every participant receives a Certificate of Participation, while outstanding young writers will receive additional recognition for their achievements.
This is where your story could go from a submission to a published work.
The Top 50 stories from Grades 5–8 and the Top 50 stories from Grades 9–12 will be published in two separate Penguin Random House books.
Your name. Your story. A published book by Penguin Random House.
Get Published by Penguin India!
Penguin isn’t just a publisher, it’s a global storytelling powerhouse with a legacy that stretches back to the 1800s. Home to timeless classics and today’s bestsellers, it has published books for every age and stage of life.With over 80 Nobel Prize-winning authors and hundreds of the world’s most celebrated voices, Penguin has shaped generations of readers across the globe.When you become part of the Penguin family, you're joining a tradition of greatness and a future of endless possibility. Selected entries will be evaluated through a structured judging process involving Penguin authors, with a focus on creativity, originality, storytelling quality, and age-appropriate writing.
What's New in NYAC 2.0?
Your Story Could Be Published by Penguin Random House
Write Your Story. Find Your Voice. Become a Published Young Author.
You don't need to wait until you're older to call yourself a writer. You just need a story worth telling.
National Young Authors Challenge 2.0
Big Red Education × Penguin