The latest winners of the long-running GDNLife Short Story Contest adult and U18 sections have fittingly been firm favourites with readers for years ... and they walk away with their prizes for the last time.
Love’s Goodbye by Nanju Francisco impressed the judges and picked up BD25 for her four-part romantic epic.
The love story addresses the issues of a woman torn between two loves – her former and first love and the man she marries and with whom she has two children.
“What was unusual was the innate decency of all the parties involved,” said judge Rohini Sunderam, from Bahrain Writers Circle. “And yet it was emotional enough that I felt the aching tension that each of the players experienced.”
More than 1,500 visitors to GDN Media’s social media platform GDNLife agreed and the five-time winner of the monthly contest that has been running for five years was just as excited as she was the first time she picked up the BD25 adult prize.
“Thank you so much!” she said. “I’m thrilled to have won the February 2025 GDNLife short story competition for Love’s Goodbye. It’s fantastic to hear it’s getting so much attention on social media.”
This is not the only success the Juffair resident has been celebrating in recent days. She has just been chosen as a finalist for the ‘Global Filipino ICON Awards 2025’ in Dubai, recognising her work as a journalist and writer.
The very last U18 Short Story contest monthly winner Lithesha Elangesan’s offering entitled The Office has attracted more than 2,600 views.
Her purple prose won over the judges with offerings such as ‘paperwork stress turns into the angelic being of positivity’. Write on! The A Levels student has won a pair of Cineco Cinemas tickets.
Judge Chris Fenton, head teacher of the British primary department at Al Noor International School, described the entry as ‘a creative take on an everyday experience for many!’. “Well done, Lithesha!” he added.
The 16-year-old Sri Lankan expatriate is currently in her final year at Al Noor International School and lives in Gudaibiya with her family – mum, Pathmini, dad, Elangesan, and younger brother, Ajidesh, 12.
“I feel extremely privileged to have been selected as the winner three times after my first piece on GDNLife, titled Reborn won in February 2022 and my second piece titled The Forest won in November 2024 in the U18 category,” she said.
“These entries are centred around my passion for imagery and description, which allow both the reader and writer to connect with and wholly immerse themselves in the environment being vividly described.
“Within these two years, I have been able to greatly hone my writing skills, and these recurring achievements are a testament to that. I am extremely grateful to GDNLife for providing young, budding writers, such as myself, with the opportunity to showcase their abilities on their platform.
“These achievements will continue to motivate me for years to come, and I hope to continue accomplishing even more in the future.”
Our panel of judges will now decide on who should walk away with the annual GDNLife Short Story of the Year prize plaques in both categories after the competition’s fifth and final anniversary chapter.
The winner of the GDNLife People’s Choice Award – the short story that has received the most views and likes – will also be announced for the last time.
GDN Media will shortly be launching an exciting new prize multi-media contest in print, online and across GDNlife and other social media channels, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Watch this space!
managingeditor@gdnmedia.bh
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