Teenage Talent Triumphs: FPJ's Pen-to-Paper Contest Awards Young Authors

Mumbai: The Free Press Journal hosted the second edition of its 'Review Writing' contest for teenagers in Mumbai called 'Pen to Paper'. Hundreds of young authors participated in the contest, and on Saturday, April 6, 2024, The Free Press Journal felicitated the best teenage review writers.

The contest invited teenage writers from all across the globe to review anything they found interesting, showcasing their knowledge and creativity.

The felicitation ceremony was graced by Abhishek Talwar, a famous children's author, who also guided the participants through an FPJ exclusive ‘young authors writing boot camp'. It was a great opportunity for young writers to improve their writing skills.

The FPJ announced the names of the top 22 winning authors after the boot camp, which was selected from hundreds of participants.

All the authors were excited to write and review in addition to receiving the awards. They were ecstatic and promised that they would write next year as well.

Part two of the Pen to Paper contest, which was first launched in 2023, was designed to engage with teenagers and also check how much they absorb and respond to their environment. The kind of entries that came in finally ranged from reviewing books to buildings and festivals, including songs, and some even wrote about the effects the books have had on their lives.

The kind of writing that came about in this contest was amazing, and it is good to know that teenagers are reading and writing good literature. In fact, this is starkly different from the general impression that the world has about the youth: the fear that the youth are engrossed in technology and mobiles and have little time to read and write.

Sharing the experience of participating in the contest, Mohammad Ismail Palekar, one of the winners from Lodha World School, LSG Palava, said, “The pen-to-paper competition is a great way to start your writing journey. I’m a very reluctant writer, so when my teacher asked me to take part in it, I hopped into the opportunity, as I think it's a great space to practice your skills.”

The winning entries were chosen based on their creativity, style, vocabulary, and grammatical accuracy, among other factors. The second edition of Pen to Paper was a great success.

The list of winners:

Shreya Arora, Dhirubhai Ambani International School

Manasvi Bajpai, G. D. Somani Memorial School

Geet Doshi, DY Patil International School

Dhruv Soni, Pravin Gandhi College of Law

Aanya Thakur, Dhirubhai Ambani International School

Archit Vimal, Gems Founder School, -Al Barsha

Mohammad Ismail Palekar, Lodha World School, LSG Palava

Myeishaa Chhablani, Dhirubhai Ambani International School

Annika Lohchab, Aditya Birla World Academy

Angad Singh Bachher, Step By Step School, Noida

Felicia Rodrigues, Pinnacle High International School

Parushni Jathar, K.C. College

Aditya Madgavkar, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan International School, Malad

Zaid Khusro, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai

Shravani Prashant Hegishte, Girton High School

Shreshtha Verma, Podar International School, Nerul

Devanshi Jindal, AMNS International School

Akshara Dalan, D.Y. Patil International School, Nerul

Norla R Tashi, GD Somani School

Khushee Mangal, Dhirubhai Ambani International School

Chirantan Nataraj, CP Goenka International School, Ulwe

Matangi Gupta, International School Manila, Philippines