Cover2Cover Books was thrilled to receive a broad range of stories for our children’s short story competition. There were haunted houses, excitable boys, errant parents, soccer competitions, and much, much more! The judges had a hard time choosing.
In fact, it was so hard that we squeezed another story into the shortlist! There is now one winner and three runners-up.
The overall winner was Lerato Mahlangu for her story These feet were made to wander, a skillful story about a young girl who wants to explore the world.
Lerato has a Diploma in Media Practices from Boston Media House majoring in Journalism. She’s an emerging writer of fiction, and was also a winner in the UJ Breaths of Johannesburg 2022 writing competition.
The three runners-up are:
Atiyya Karbelkar for her charming story, Ayanda and the haunted house.
Atiyya Dawood Karbelkar is a self-published author and blogger based in the South of Johannesburg, Lenasia. Her love for reading from a tender age ignited her passion for writing now as an adult. She is qualified in the field of Human Resource Management but now writes for The Muslim Women Magazine.
Wandile Mate for his moving soccer tale, Hope.
Wandile is a second-year social work student at UJ. He has also worked as a youth show anchor at a community radio station and has written radio and stage scripts. He says, “I am devoted to saving the world as a social worker and through my literature and I am glad to have found a great balance between the two.”
Nomcebo Cele for her exciting adventure, Mandla’s Mark.
Nomcebo has a National Diploma in Video Technology from Durban University of Technology, and is co-founder of a Film and Television Production Company, BTS Films.
The stories will be edited and compiled into an exciting anthology for intermediate phase learners (grades 4 to 6), and released later this year.