Kyobo Bookstore 8th Story Contest Submission Deadline Extended to the 31st of Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Kyobo Bookstore announced on the 13th that it will hold the "8th Kyobo Bookstore Story Contest," co-hosted by Studio S (formerly Storyworks) and Showbox, and sponsored by Whale Breathing Library, To You Dream, the Korea Creative Story Writers Association, and Hongdangmu.

The Kyobo Bookstore Story Contest, which began in 2013, is now in its 8th year and aims to discover writers with fresh and creative stories as well as works that can be developed into secondary content such as movies, dramas, and webtoons. Anyone can apply regardless of whether they are established or new writers, and there are no restrictions on genre or content.

Applications are open from the 13th until May 31. Submission categories include mid-to-long novels, short stories, and children's stories. Applicants must fill out the application form with the theme, planning intent, characters, and synopsis, and submit the manuscript online through Kyobo Bookstore Story (http://story.kyobobook.co.kr).

The judging process is divided into preliminary and final rounds. For works that reach the final round in the long novel category, the final winners will be selected through a combination of reader voting on Internet Kyobo Bookstore and evaluation by a panel of professional judges. The winning works will be announced in September.

The grand prize winner will receive a record-high prize of 30 million KRW, with total prize money amounting to 66 million KRW. This year, the number of awards has increased: the grand prize for mid-to-long novels (1 winner) will receive 30 million KRW, excellence awards in the mid-to-long novel category (4 winners) will receive 5 million KRW each, excellence awards in the children's story category (2 winners) will receive 3 million KRW each, and excellence awards in the short story category (5 winners) will receive 2 million KRW each. In addition to prize money, winning works will receive support for publishing in print and eBook formats, as well as various supports for "One Source Multi Use (OSMU)" development.

Many past winning works of the Kyobo Bookstore Story Contest have signed contracts for secondary works in various forms such as dramas, movies, radio dramas, and musicals. From the first grand prize winner "Singleville," the second winner "Pure Boxer Lee Kwon-sook," the third winner "Please Come to the Witch's Restaurant," the fourth grand prize winner "Shift," the fifth grand prize winner "Gosiman," to the sixth grand prize winner "The Man I Killed Has Returned," major winning works each year have been produced into various content including publications, movies, dramas, and webtoons.

Last year, the second contest winner Kim Yi-rang's "Joseon Matchmaking Workshop: Flower Crew" and the sixth contest short story winner Kang Han-bit's "Luwak Human" were produced and aired as dramas and also achieved export success overseas. The grand prize winner last year, "Piercing Heart," is currently in discussions for video adaptation contracts even before the print publication, and all major winning works have completed publishing contracts.

Notably, this 8th contest has increased participation by having Studio S, an SBS subsidiary production company, and Showbox, a major domestic content investment and distribution company, provide sponsorship funds, participate in the final judging, and secure partial priority negotiation rights for video adaptation, raising expectations for the video production of winning works.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.