KUCHING – A total of 148 entries from young writers across Malaysia took part in the Green Microfiction Challenge, the English short story writing competition organised by Kuching Beach Cleaners, Sarawak Eco-Warriors, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus and Swinburne Sarawak Green Club. The overall winning stories were ‘V101: Mission Hope’ by Kendra Liew in Category A, ‘Honeymoon Phase’ by Katrina Ling Dezhi in Category B and ‘Dry Thoughts in a Dry Season’ by Faith Foo in Category C. At the online awards presentation ceremony, the overall winners read their winning stories aloud and fielded questions from the audience alongside the judges, who also discussed the merits of the stories including plot twists, character development and the unique worlds that provided the settings of the microfiction pieces. Speaking at the online awards presentation ceremony, Swinburne Sarawak Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer Ir Professor Lau Hieng Ho aptly remarked, “We do not need to focus only on the science or the economics of conservation but also on imagination, creativity and stories that take us into different worlds and perspectives.” Swinburne Sarawak’s School of Foundation Studies language lecturers Cassandra Lau, Norizan Tan and Dr Christina Yin – who was also chief judge, co-organiser and Green Club advisor – formed the panel of judges. The competition is supported by the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme under the United Nations Development Programme.
