A simple checklist for Chinese Writing Contest participants

The MSL Master Chinese Writing Contest 2026 officially opens for submissions on August 1!

To ensure your entry successfully passes the initial screening and qualifies for the public vote, use this simple pre-submission checklist. Qualified entries will be published anonymously on our website, and public voting will take place on X.

The MSL Master Chinese Writing Contest Checklist:

1. Understand the Submission Form
2. Check Your Word Count
3. Be Aware of the Deadline
4. Know What Happens Next

#1 Understand the Submission Form

We use a Google Form to collect all entries. You will be required to provide the following information:

• Your Name
• Your Location (Where you are from)
• A Brief Bio (About yourself & what inspires you): Please keep this concise—around 70 words is perfect.
• Your Email Address: This is strictly used to communicate with you about the contest. You will receive exactly one confirmation email once your submission is safely in our queue.
• The Title of Your Writing: Must be written in Chinese using only characters from the approved 320-character list.
• The Body of Your Writing: Must be written in Chinese using only characters from the approved 320-character list.

Note: Please write your name, location, and brief bio in English. This information will be used to introduce you as an author in this year's upcoming volume of the Easy-to-Read Chinese Short Stories book series!

#2 Check Your Word Count

• For Stories, Plays, or Essays: Your piece must have a character count between 299 and 1,000 Chinese characters (excluding punctuation marks).
• For Poetry: There is no minimum or maximum word count—poetry is accepted at any length.

Reminder: Every single unique Chinese character used across your entire submission—from the very first character of your title to the final full stop of your text—must be chosen strictly from the 320 designated character list.

#3 Be Aware of the Deadline

Submissions open on August 1 and close on September 16 (Hong Kong Time, GMT +8). Late entries will not be accepted, so make your single submission count!

#4 Know What Happens Next

Once the contest closes, MSL Master will carefully review all submissions. Entries will be evaluated based on the creative use of the limited vocabulary and the originality of the narrative.

Qualified entries will be assigned a submission number and published online completely anonymously on October 1. Come back to our news blog then to see if your piece made the shortlist! From there, the floor opens to a transparent public vote on X to determine our 2026 winners. 

Follow this on X here: https://x.com/MSLMasterHK  for the latest updates.