Bestselling author June Hur to judge the 2026 First Page student writing challenge
Grade 7-12 students can write the first page of a speculative novel set 150 years in the future
New York Times bestselling YA author June Hur will judge the 2026 First Page student writing challenge.
The First Page student writing challenge asks students in Grades 7 to 12 from across Canada to write the first page of a speculative novel set 150 years in the future.
The CBC Books competition will be open from Feb. 1- 28, 2026.
The challenge tasks young writers with imagining how current world issues and trends will evolve in the next century.
The First Page competition is divided into two categories — one for Grades 7 to 9 students and one for Grades 10 to 12 students.
June Hur is a South Korean-born writer based in Toronto. Her novels include The Forest of Stolen Girls, The Silence of Bones and The Red Palace.
Her latest book A Crane Among Wolves takes place in Joseon in 1506, under the tyrannical reign of Yeonsan, a king hellbent on torturing the land, the women and burning books within the kingdom. After her older sister, Suyeon is captured by the king, Iseul leaves the comforts of her village to defy the capital and save her sister.
Meanwhile, Prince Daehyun, the king's half-brother is staging a risky coup to dethrone him and save the people. When Iseul and Daehyun meet, they begrudgingly join forces to take down their common enemy.
Hur's upcoming book Behind Five Willows is a historical romance set in Korea inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Set in a society plagued by government censorship, poverty and rigid social expectations, Behind Five Willows follows dutiful daughter and illegal book transcriber Haewon, who takes great pleasure in preserving forbidden literature. When she crosses paths with Seojun, the noble son of a powerful family with a secret passion for writing, the two find themselves forming an unlikely bond that transcends class lines.
Hur told CBC Books she is excited to judge this year's contest.
"I chose to be a judge this year because I know how talented young writers are. There is nothing more exciting than discovering fresh voices! I can’t wait to see what they've created," said Hur.
"I like to ask these questions: What about the first pages made me stay? What, exactly, made me want to read on? What about the first pages made me leave? What made me lose interest and set the book down?
"The first pages should showcase your strength as a writer, just enough to pull the reader forward."
Hur will choose the two winners from 10 finalists in the Grades 7 to 9 category and 10 finalists in the Grades 10 to 12 category.
The winners will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, a monthly book delivery service, and will have their winning entry published on CBC Books. They will also receive 50 books for each of their school libraries.
Last year's winners were Claire Bisch for her story You Will Not Remember and Leila Djuric for her story, Digital Silence.
- Read last year's First Page Student writing challenge winners here
- Click here to find classroom resources for this challenge
- Download posters for your classrooms: in colour or black and white
WHAT YOU CAN WRITE: Your entry can be 300-400 words in length. The story could be from any literary genre, from mystery or thriller to literary fiction, from adventure or romance to satire or science fiction. Your entry also needs a title, but the title is not included in the word limit. Your entry can be written in any genre.
WHO CAN ENTER: This contest is open to all Canadian residents who are full-time students enrolled in Grades 7 to 12. Entries will be judged in two age categories: Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12.
PRIZES: The winner of each category will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which delivers monthly boxes of books and literary-related goodies. The school library of each winner will also receive a donation of 50 books.
TEACHER GUIDES: Visit Curio.ca for discussion questions and writing tips from Canadian writers, like Cory Doctorow, Linwood Barclay, Fonda Lee, Cherie Dimaline, Erin Bow, Katherena Vermette and M.G. Vassanji.
HAVE QUESTIONS? Email us at cbcbooks@cbc.ca.