Bulgarian Creative Writing Competition in English

essays; in 2012, the competition was opened to all public schools, and there were more than 3700 submissions in 2023! After this, it was announced that Peace Corps Bulgaria was to be closed in mid-2013. The CORPlus organization was established to carry on several initiatives of the program and, thanks to the enthusiasm displayed by students and teachers alike, CORPlus was able to create an independent version of this competition for the 2012-2013 school year. This new incarnation, called the Bulgarian Creative Writing Competition in English, maintains the original spirit of the first competitions, but with a more sustainable outlook, and new possibilities for prizes and recognition of its outstanding young writers. It is open to students from 6th to 12th grades, although each grade level is separate from the others (that is, 6th graders only compete against other 6th graders, 7th with 7th, etc.). Registration begins on October 2nd and closes on October 20th. When the official topics for the competition are sent out by CORPlus, participating schools select a time and date for their students to write. Students are given one hour to respond to one of several creative, unusual themes (these are different for each grade level). Over the course of the hour, students may not consult dictionaries, grammar references, the Internet, other students, etc. The goal is instead to create their own unique pieces of writing (in English), to think “outside the box”. After the hour is over, they turn in their personal information sheets and essays to the teacher, who then mails them to the regional judges. Judging

Once all the essays have been received, judges (teachers, writers, native English speakers, and specialists) read the essays. Using various criteria, the judging panels select the top four essays from each grade level. These finalist essays are sent on to national judging. At the national level, essays are again read and rated; first, second, and third places are awarded to the top pieces from each grade. Students whose essays do not qualify for the national round will still receive a certificate of participation. These students are invited to the national awards ceremony, where they are presented with prizes: high-quality English-learning and writing-related materials donated from supporting organizations. There are also several additional prizes provided for outstanding writing. Of course, prizes are only one reason to participate in the BCWC. Our main goal is to show students that every sort of talent deserves to be cultivated and shared with the world. Everyone’s voice matters! As one student put it, “this is not your typical Olympiad!”