Manx students will be given the chance to follow in the footsteps of the island’s most famous novelist, a literary prize named in his honour.

The Hall Caine writing prize has been revived and re-launched by the Manx Litfest committee, following an absence of two years.

Originally founded in 2010 by Gloria Rukeyser, the great-grandaughter of the legendary Victorian novelist Hall Caine, and run in conjunction with the Department of Education, the competition is open to all local students of any age who are in full-time education in the Isle of Man.

Entrants are being encouraged to submit either a short story, a memoir, or the opening chapter of a novel, written under the theme of ’The first time I...’

There are four separate categories in the competition, with prizes for the best story at primary level, in which entrants must write up to 500 words, up to Key Stage 3, where pupils must submit a story up to 1,000 words, Key stage 4, with a word limit of 1,500 and finally students who are studying at Key Stage 5 level and University College Isle of Man students, who must create a story up to 2,000 words.

There are top prizes of between £100 and £200 available, with extra prizes for second and third and highly commended entries will be awarded £25 each.

The competition was founded by Gloria, herself a writer and journalist, after she wanted to help encourage children on the island to foster a love of creative writing.

The first Hall Caine competition was launched at Greeba Castle, the former home of the novelist, who lived on the island until his death in 1931.

’I’m delighted that the Prize is being relaunched and would like to thank the team at Manx Litfest and everyone within the Island’s schools and colleges for supporting it,’ said Gloria.

’This year’s theme really resonates with me, because it opens the door to so many different possible stories for the young writers to explore.’

The Hall Caine prize is the second literary award which has been given a new lease of life under the Manx Litfest umbrella. Earlier this year they also relaunched the Olive Lamming writing prize, aimed at writers of all ages.

The deadline for entering the Hall Caine writing competition is Friday, January 24, and any entries should be sent to [email protected]

More details are available from manxlitfest.com