TIPPIE World Literacy Day Story Competition

TIPPIE World Literacy Day Story Competition

Competition period: 1 September 2026 – 30 September 2026

1. About the competition

To celebrate World Literacy Day, Tippie invites young writers to share their imagination and love of stories in the Tippie World Literacy Day Story Competition.

The competition is open to children between the ages of 7 and 11 years.

We are looking for original, imaginative stories that capture the joy of reading, storytelling and creativity.

2. How to enter

To enter, children must:

• Write an original story suitable for their age group.
• Submit their story by email to info@tippie.co.za between 1 September 2026 and 30 September 2026.
• Join the Tippie and ATKV Facebook pages.
• Include the child's full name, age and contact details of a parent or legal guardian with the entry.
• A parent or legal guardian must submit the entry on behalf of the child.
• Entries must be received by 23:59 on 30 September 2026. No late entries will be accepted.

There is no entry fee.

3. Story requirements

• The story must be the child's own original work.
• Entries can be written in English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa and isiZulu.
• Stories should be appropriate for children aged 7–11.
• The story may be handwritten or typed, provided that it is clearly legible.
• Entries may not contain offensive, discriminatory, defamatory or inappropriate content.
• Stories that have been copied, substantially reproduced from another person's work, or generated by another person or with the use of AI will not qualify.

Story lengths per age:

• 7 years – 200–500 words
• 8 years – 250–550 words
• 9 years – 300–600 words
• 10 years – 400–700 words
• 11 years – 500–1,000 words

Each child may submit one entry only.

4. Judging

The competition will be judged by renowned South African author Fanie Viljoen.

Entries will be judged on factors including:

• Creativity and imagination
• Originality
• Storytelling ability
• Age-appropriate writing
• Enjoyment and engagement
• The overall impression of the story

The judge's decision will be final and binding, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the judging decision.

5. Prizes

First Prize

• The winning story will be professionally designed, illustrated and printed in the style of a Tippie book, creating a special Tippie-style edition of their story.
• A R1 000 Tippie voucher to use towards purchasing Tippie books of their choice, directly ordered from LAPA at info@tippie.co.za.
• The winning story will be used to create a special ATKV: Ek Kan Lees activity booklet, featuring the winning story together with fun literacy activities. The booklet will be distributed at ATKV resorts during the 2026 December school holidays.

The personalised storybook and activity booklet is a commemorative prize only. It will not become part of the official Tippie series, will not be published as an official Tippie title and will not be offered for sale or commercial distribution.

Second Prize

The second-place winner will receive an ATKV gift pack.

6. Winner announcement

The winner and runner-up will be announced on Friday 9 October 2026 on the Tippie, Klaskameraad and ATKV Facebook pages.

7. Permission and use of entries

By entering the competition, the child's parent or legal guardian gives Tippie and the ATKV permission to reproduce the submitted story for purposes directly related to the competition.

The child's story remains the child's intellectual property. No entry will be commercially published or sold by LAPA or the ATKV as part of the Tippie series.

8. Photographs and publicity

By entering the competition, the child’s parent or legal guardian gives permission for the child’s name, age, photograph and winning story to be used by Tippie/LAPA/ATKV in connection with the competition, including for promotional and publicity purposes.

9. Personal information

Personal information supplied with entries will be used only for purposes reasonably necessary to administer the competition.

10. Disqualification

The organisers reserve the right to disqualify an entry if it does not comply with the competition requirements or these Terms and Conditions.

11. General

The competition is open to children aged 7–11 years residing in South Africa.

Employees of Tippie, Penguin Random House South Africa, LAPA, ATKV and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter.

12. Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions

By submitting an entry, the parent or legal guardian confirms that they have read and accepted these Terms and Conditions and give permission for the child to participate in the competition.

Good luck to all our young storytellers, we can't wait to read your stories!

Tippie | Penguin Random House South Africa | ATKV