call for submission

Call for Submissions: Special Issue on Hans Christian Andersen

Were you one of the children enchanted by the fantastical and timeless fairy tale characters created by the renowned author Hans Christian Andersen—like the Ugly Duckling, the Snow Queen, the Little Mermaid, and the Emperor’s New Clothes? The Department of English is excited to announce a call for papers and creative works about Hans Christian Andersen for a new special online issue dedicated to Andersen’s enduring tales, set to be published in mid-2025. This issue will explore the enduring impact of Andersen’s ta on literature and culture, as well as their relevance in contemporary society.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions must be original and not previously published elsewhere. Plagiarism and content generated by AI are strictly prohibited. Documents should be saved in either .doc or .docx format.

1.    Academic Writings

·         Must be original articles relevant to Hans Christian Andersen and/or his works.

·         Acceptable formats include student essays or project papers.

·         Word count should be between 5,000 to 6,000 words.

2.    Creative Works

·         Fractured fairytales: Create a new fairytale in the style  of Andersen or provide an alternate version of one or more of Andersen’s original tales, incorporating modern themes and thoughts.

·         Poems: Choose a character from Andersen’s works and write a poem from his/her perspective, [link: more details on poetry writings].

·         Others: Besides literary articles, we also welcome submissions of reviews, video essays, short stories, translations, cartoons, illustrations, photographs, or any other works.

Deadline for Submissions: 

30 April 2025

Let it Go! Let it Go!

Poetry Writing Competition in Honor of Hans Christen Andersen

“Let the storm rage on! / The cold never bothered me anyway” goes Princess Elsa in Frozen as she asserts her separation from the outside world, beginning her journey of self-discovery. “Out of the sea / Wish I could be / Part of that world” sings Ariel in The Little Mermaid as she slowly and sadly descends back to the familiarity of the sands of the sea. Timeless Disney songs such as these allow audiences to delve into the minds of the characters crafted by Hans Christen Andersen almost two hundred years ago. Frozen after all was a loose adaptation of Anderson’s The Snow Queen while The Little Mermaid remains one of Andersen’s most famous works. This year’s poetry contest invites you to replicate the Disney writers’ creative power in exploring a chosen character’s inner thoughts in Anderson’s works (but you won’t be writing a song but something similar!).

Choose one character from the list of stories (http://hca.gilead.org.il/)  and write a poem from his/her perspective. The poem should ideally have the following:

• A clear picture (called a “dramatic situation”) that establishes where your chosen character is at the moment
• His/her inner thoughts about himself/herself and his/her relationship with other characters and the events in the story
• An insight about human life or a lesson learned as represented by your chosen character’s experience

Here are some examples:

• How did the Emperor in The Emperor’s New Clothes feel when somebody pointed out that he was naked? Or maybe you would like to write about the inner thoughts of the young boy who spoke the truth before he shouted that the emperor had no clothes?
• How did the Ugly Duckling feel when his siblings cast him out?
• What were the Brave Tin Soldier’s last thoughts as he burned to his death?
• Describe the discomfort that the Princess in The Princess and the Pea felt as she struggled to sleep.

These are just some suggestions. You can definitely choose other characters and other stories by Andersen!

Poem Guidelines

• Content: The speaker of the poem must be a character from one of Hans Christen Andersen’s stories (http://hca.gilead.org.il/). They should not be new or made-up characters.  
• Line count: At least ten (10) lines
• Structure: No stanza number requirements. You can use conventional forms (such as the sonnet or the villanelle) or free form. The poem can have a rhyme scheme or it can be free verse (no rhymes). Having experimental forms (e.g. making the poem “heart-shaped”) is discouraged.

Judging Criteria

• Content (50%):
  • Establishes a clear dramatic situation
  • Uses imagery and figures of speech appropriate to the poem’s narrative and can develop them in a sustained manner
  • Presents an original and imaginative take on the character
  • Provides an insight not just into the character, but into human life through this perspective

• Diction (20%)
  • Uses words and tone appropriate for the character and the dramatic situation
  • Chooses words that can provide rhythm and cadence to the poem (e.g. proper use of accented and unaccented syllables, alliteration, onomatopoeia)

• Form and Structure (20%)
  • The poem has a clear and logical structure
  • Uses effective line breaks and stanza cuts that help build on the poem’s meaning and generate tension.

• Conventions (10%):
  • Uses punctuation correctly and appropriately.
  • Maintains correct spelling throughout the piece.
  • Contains a few grammatical errors that do not impede readers’ understanding of the text.

Submission Guidelines and Requirements:

• Format: Times New Roman, Size 12, single space, standard margin.
• Provide H. C. Andersen’s original story’s title and paste the link of the e-text from http://hca.gilead.org.il/ 
  • e.g., Adapted from H. C. Andersen’s The Metal Pig, retrieved from http://hca.gilead.org.il/metal_pi.html

• Submit your work to elc@hsu.edu.hk with the Subject “Creative Writing Competition 2024-25” and name your file “Full Name_Story title.docx” (e.g., Chan Tai Man Peter_The Diamond Pig.docx”. The deadline for submission is ______________.
• Participants will earn 2 iGPS units or 6 ECA/CS hours. Submissions should be original and unpublished. Suspected AI-generated text will be automatically disqualified and will not be awarded ANY iGPS units and ECA/CS hours.

• Finalists will be awarded a certificate and book vouchers as follows:
  • ONE Golden Award: $500
  • ONE Silver Awards: $300
  • ONE Bronze Awards: $200
  • FIVE Honourable mentions: $100 each

The awardees’ work will be recorded in the archive of the Department of English’s website and published in the school’s journal.

There is a series of creative writing workshops that guide you through the creative writing process. For details, please refer to the Friday Bulletin.

Sample Poems

(Note:  These poems are based on fairy tales that were NOT written by Andersen. Use them only as a guide to generate possible ideas. You should not use Beauty and the Beast or Sleeping Beauty or any fairy tale not written by Andersen as material)

Beauty and the Beast

Jaimes Alsop

1. The Beast

Knowing how you loved the birds

I fixed them to the trees

so they wouldn’t fly away.

So you would stay.

And you remained silent

and never questioned my bloody palms

or reproached me the birds

because they didn’t sing.

It couldn’t last, of course.

No new birds came and those crucified

were taken by small animals or simply

disappeared from the nails.

I was sure then that you would leave me.

Finally I confessed.

Trembling, I brought you the hammer

and showed my broken fingers.

Leaves and branches in my hair,

the diagrams of Autumn

on the sky.

And you smiled and said it didn’t matter

about the birds

and drank at my tears

like a rare and fragile wine

that they too would not be wasted.

2. Beauty

I came to you so carelessly

there were those who thought I had not been warned.

I could only point to the false lovers who carried marks

where you had pressed coins into their palms

and admit I was impatient for your scars.

The rumours followed us as easily

as if you murdered me every night;

hemlock in my evening wine,

a loosened bannister on the stair.

The dull villagers and daft princes

waited still and at distances

for grave news and relentless

until I could only point again

at their jealous eyes and whisper

I had discovered why you handled me

as though I were made of glass.

I know they want to know about our bodies.

Our virginity confuses them

and they are reduced to words and silences.

What shall we allow them to believe?

We are a thousand years old, no histories

and nothing to confess.

Briar Rose

Debra Cash

(Note: Based on The Sleeping Beauty)

A hundred years of dreams —

I would not have given up an hour

of those shifting landscapes, the tower, the lagoon

the rough roses making a cradle around my bed.

Everything stops

for me and for everyone else I know

while behind my wincing eyelids I absorb

my parents’ recklessness.

We wanted the best for you, they’ll tell me:

all those girlish virtues

a pretty face and figure, kindness to the poor

the ability to sing and play the spinet.

Inviting the colors of the rainbow to my Christening,

spraying me with holy white light,

they locked out one color of the spectrum

the darkness that absorbs it all

and I blame my father. Maleficent came to his birth

just as surely as she did to mine:

the difference is that everyone knew her then

when her name was Poverty and Need

and the guests all bowed their heads. In our day,

my birthday, no one expected her.

Evil, they called her. I call her

Resentment. Fury. Locked away, I dream

and no one tells me what to do.

No one breaks in. And when a stranger offers me a spindle

glistening, sexual, I sink into the pillows

and remember the worst has already happened:

I have survived death and turned it into sleep

and a dream lasting one hundred years.

When I wake

I will know my lover’s face.

2024-2025