Two young writers won $500 (about Rwf365,000) each in a short story writing competition organised by Huza Press, a local publishing house.

The event took place on Friday in Nyarutarama, a city suburb.

Daniel Rafiki and Darla Umutoni Rudakubana emerged winners out of eight finalists.

The competition, which was launched on June 10, saw the submission of more than 50 stories each of about 3,000 words.

The stories were scrutinised by a panel of judges who included Nigerian writer and publisher Richard Ali, Malawian writer Shadreck Chikoti and Beverly Nambozo of BN Poetry in Uganda to end up with 10 stories.

Louise Umutoni, founder and director of Huza Press, said the competition is aimed at encouraging writing from Rwanda.

"We established the country’s first short story prize to support Rwandans with a passion for writing to grow their skills and to provide them with a platform to share their work. Through this competition we hope to see the rise of new writers from Rwanda and at the same time support a reading culture in Rwanda,” she said.

The awards ceremony featured poetry, storytelling and was characterised by traditional and modern performances of local artistes.

Mike Kayihura thrilled the crowd as did Rwanamiza with his Inanga musical instrument.

Speaking to The New Times, Daniel Rafiki and Darla Umutoni Rudakubana, the winners of the competition, said it was a great moment for them beating 50 people who submitted their work.

Umutoni Rudakubana said it was an honour and an encouragement and appealed to other young writers to keep the passion and the spirit of writing.

Huza Press is a Rwanda-based publishing house committed to developing quality creative writing and the growth of the creative industry through the publishing and distribution of contemporary African writing.

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