Well done to all the writers who submitted a story for the competition! Your entries were amazing and the judges had a difficult time choosing the winners. But after much deliberation, the JUNIOR winners are:

Motebang Disene – Recycling with Thabang

I am honoured to be chosen as the winner, it means a lot. I can now see the direction I am heading with my writing and will continue to write stories/books for my fans. It’s also overwhelming to be chosen as the best, so thank you and thank you.

I entered this competition, not only because of my talent as a writer but because I really need this money to help here and there at home – since my mom is our sole breadwinner. So this money will really, really help. I read almost every day on FunDza. I like to read stories by Fanz and the ‘Mindspace’ blog. I read, rate and comment every work I read. I love to read Tamica Mopp’s work. She really inspires me a lot. My friend is the one who introduced me to FunDza early this year. From then I got hooked and started sending my work and now I read more often. I also introduced FunDza to other two friends of mine.

Jan Mogadime – Our Councillor, Our Icon

Thank you so much for selecting me. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve won a competition. I don’t know, hey, I feel like I am on another world of good things. Thank you so much for selecting me, it means so much to me. I love FunDza so much.

This money I will add to the money that mom saved so that she can buy me a laptop. Finally I can publish my stories on Kindle. And again thank you so much.

Sebola Masilo Leave – True Men Encourage Reconciliation

When I received the call, I was so excited to hear that I am the winner of the completion. Even when they were telling me what is needed, I couldn’t hear them properly because of the joy that was burning inside my heart. It was a dream come true! Ever since I started writing in 2014, I never got a chance to celebrate my writing because I didn’t have a reason to. So I will use this money to buy a T-shirt and the remaining money I will save for my studies.

The judges also wanted to honour the following as being Highly Commended:
Oyama Balele – Little heart, big love
Neliswa Ndlovu – The unfinished story of my life
Katlego Phasha – The person who changed my life
Christophe Djuma – You don’t have to be rich to save someone’s life
Blessing Airujuan – A heroic sacrificial bravery
Clamantia Mathebula – My Inspiration
Theonel Mathebula – It takes a village

*****

And here are our SENIOR winners!

We received such wonderful entries. Thank you! It was a tough choice for the judges… but the winners are:

Bulelani Kambula – Paul the saviour

Firstly I would like to thank Alice Kone for pushing me to write this piece. Winning means the world to me, it means I’m doing something right and that encourages me to do better. Most importantly, winning means I’m better than the previous person I was, that I’m growing in my craft. It also means I was dedicated to my goal and determined to see it through.

With the prize money I’ll definitely get myself a keyboard, mine is missing crucial keys and using an onscreen keyboard is not an easy task. I also read as frequent as I can on FunDza and just got my Literature Study course certificate from one of the many courses I enrolled for.

Lungelwa Kulati – Not all heroes wear capes

Thank you for choosing me as one of the winners. I’m overjoyed. Winning means a lot to me. I’m sure there were a lot of great entries, so being chosen as one of the winners is a great honour. I just had a baby last Friday and this prize will help a lot. Also, winning means to me that, my work as a writer is recognized and that I can be proud of myself.

Amanda Mpinga – Inferno’s Marvel

Winning means a lot to me. I wrote my entry with a lot of doubt so I was surprised to find out I have won. I intend on spoiling myself with the prize money. I read on FunDza almost every day and most of my friends and relatives have also adopted this habit because I’ve encouraged them.

The judges also wanted to honour the following as being Highly Commended:
Belson Kutambe – The last meal
Darrionn Drew – A lesson to learn and live by everyday
Lucky Thompson – The Encourager
Lerato Mahlangu – Lessons I learnt from an injury
Hector Sibisi – Solitude and Suffering

Congratulations to all the winning and highly commended entries… and to everyone who participated!