2026 International Literary Competition: Enroll Now

The 7th International Literary Creation Competition takes place between July 20 – 30, 2026. Registration deadline: July 13, 2026.

In order to participate in the 7th International Literary Creation Contest, complete Annex 1 online, pay the participation fee and send the works and proof of payment to the email address: festivaluldearte@gmail.com.

Fill in Annex 1  here: https://forms.gle/9oc3sM9g9DCqvPsE7

ORGANIZERS:

Join4Arts Association in partnership with Best Bridge Services SRL, Snagov Town Hall and Local Council, Ilfov County Council

CATEGORIES:

The International Literary Creation Competition takes place in 3 categories, each with the 4 sections and 4 target groups.

The Categories are:

• A. Romanian
• B. English
• C. French

SECTIONS:

• A – Poetry
• B – Poetry for children
• C – Short prose
• D – Stories for children

AGE GROUPS:

The International Literary Creation Competition is addressed to young people and adults with literary interests, as follows:

• Group I – competitors under 14 years of age
• Group II – young people aged between 14 and 18 years
• Group III – young people aged between 19 and 25 years
• Group IV – adults older than 26 years (without upper limit)

Theme of the International Literary Creation Competition:

a) The contest does not have a given theme, this being at the choice of the participants. In the case of poetry, it is recommended that the idea be subscribed to a well-known lyrical register (present in Romanian and universal literature).

b) Each contestant will send 3 (three) poems, respectively a single text of maximum 3 pages, for short prose. The texts for the contest will be written in A4 format, Times New Roman, character 12, obligatory with correct spelling, 1.5 spaces and will be sent only in .doc or .docx.

Poems can address a wide range of prosody. Poems should be no shorter than 5 verses, but no longer than 8 stanzas.

The works will be sent to the e-mail address: festivaluldearte@gmail.com together with proof of payment of the fee.

Technical details:

The texts of the literary creations will be written in WORD (.doc or .docx format). Those in Romanian will contain diacritics, and those in French will contain accents. The font used will be Times New Roman of size 12, and the space between the lines will be 1.5.

Judging criteria:

• Stylistic valences of the text, appreciation of some elements of creativity (style figures, artistic images, rhetorical procedures etc.);
• Authenticity and originality of creation, the degree of artistic complexity;
• Particularities of a compositional and technical nature of creation;
• References showing the degree of cultural accumulation of the competitor;
• The impact of the transmitted message, its instructive-educational value;
• Observance of current typing techniques and the general impression offered by the text;
• Observance of the spelling rules.

Participation rules of the International Literary Creation Competition:

Article 1 – General conditions

1.1 The participants in this contest are obliged to comply with the terms written in the Rules & Regulations of The International Literary Creation Competition of the Festival 4 Arts.

Article 2 – Conditions for participation in the International Literary Creation Competition

2.1 It is forbidden for the competitors to send works for which they do not hold copyrights according to Law no. 8/1996 with subsequent amendments and completions on copyright and related rights. In this regard, participants are responsible for the authenticity and originality of the work.

2.2 The Organizer will not consider the works that violate, in any way, the Copyright Law or other Romanian laws in force on the date of the Contest.

2.3 The works sent in the conditions of the present Rules & Regulation of The International Literary Creation Competition of the Festival 4 Arts, will be accompanied, compulsory by the filling out on online of Annex 1 – Registration coupon. By filling out it, the competitor / guardian acknowledges and agrees with Annex 2 – PUBLICATION RIGHT AGREEMENT and Annex 3 – Parental agreement to participate in the contest for minor participants;

2.4 Annex 1 will be filled out in the same day when the works and the proof of payment are sent, at the email address: festivaluldearte@gmail.com. Failure to comply with this mandatory requirement, as well as some omissions in the form, will lead to automatic disqualification;

2.5 Competitors will send the works having read the “PUBLICATION RIGHT AGREEMENT”;

2.6 The works and the proof of payment will be sent only in electronic format at the email address: festivaluldearte@gmail.com. The message’s subject will be: Name, Surname, Section, Category and the Age Group in which the competitor participates (example: John Smith – Poetry, English, Group I).

2.7 Competitors must pay the fee of:

• 30 Euros if the registration is made until April 27;
• 37 Euros if the registration is made between April 28 – July 1;
• 46 Euros if the registration is made between July 2 – 13.

2.8 Competitors may participate in more than one section/category, with the payment of cumulated fees, where there is a discount of 2 euros for the second and more sections/categories (first one has the entire value).

By ”registration” we mean the submission of works together (at the same time) with the proof of payment of the fee, and the Annex 1 completed online.

The participation fee will be paid by bank transfer to the account of Asociatia Join4Arts, CIF 52132900, opened at ING Bank, Bucharest, IBAN:  RO96INGB0000999918429474 SWIFT Code: INGBROBU or by PayPal. The payment order must include: Participant’s Name, Section and Age Group.

Or by PayPal at festivaluldearte@gmail.com.

Or by PayPal here:

Proof of payment of the participation fee and the works are sent by email at festivauldearte@gmail.com, at the same time as the completed online  Annex 1.

Article 3 – Competition period

3.1 The 7th International Literary Creation Competition  of the Festival 4 Arts takes place according to the following calendar:

a) March 29 – July 13 – Registration of competitors, receipt and evaluation of works. The works will be sent only during the registration period for the competition, namely starting with March 29, and no later than July 13, at 23:59;

b) July 13 – 20 – upload of all works on the festival website https://festivaluldearte.com/. The works will be available to the public on July 20;

c) July 20 – 30 – Public Vote and Judging for each section, category and age group. Judging is not influenced by public voting;

d) July 30 – Winners announcement (in the evening, Romanian time).

3.2 The competition period, respectively all the dates mentioned above, may be modified, the organizers of the competition having the obligation to announce in advance on the aforementioned web page any possible changes in the competition regulations.

Article 4 – The Jury of the International Literary Creation Competition

The jury is made up of writer and journalist Florin Dochia (Jury President), USR member, literary critic Raluca Faraon, member of the Union of Romanian Writers (URW) and writer and professor Maria-Gabriela Dobrescu, URW member.

The biographies of the jury members can be found on the festival website.

The jury will determine, based on a score, the winners of the prizes for each section, category and age group. The decisions of the Jury are unique and final, no appeals are allowed.

Article 5 – Prizes of the The International Literary Creation Competition

5.1 All participants in the competition will receive diplomas of participation placed on the website in the article where the competitor’s text is published. Depending on the number and value of pupils/students in the contest, their mentors will be awarded a Diploma of Excellence.

5.2 Each section may obtain a ”Grand Prize”, depending on the appreciation of the Jury. Each age group of each category will be awarded the First Prize, the Second Prize, the Third Prize and Mentions.

The prizes will consist of:

• money or trophies (Grand Prize);
• promotion on Facebook;
• publishing the winners literary works in the magazine ”Revista Nouă” (Grand Prize and 1^st Prize) at the decision of Master Florin Dochia;
• inviting the winners to give recitals at the ”Antim Ivireanu” House of Culture in Snagov, Romania. Expenses for transport, accommodation and meals for participation in recitals/exhibitions are not reimbursed.
• All winners are invited to register for a Zoom interview in which they can make public their achievements and future projects. The interview will be broadcast on the Festival’s YouTube channel https://youtube.com/c/Festivaluldearte.

The number of prizes will be decided by the Jury, depending on the artistic value of the competitors.

5.3 All the data mentioned above can be modified, the contest organizers having the obligation to announce in advance on the festival website any possible changes in the contest rules.

5.4 The decisions of the Jury are unique and final, no appeals are allowed.