DROP everything and write (DEW) may sound simple but for students, turning it into reality requires commitment and creativity.
For 60 students aged between nine and 16 from Sri Dasmesh International School, the effort resulted in 60 original stories that will be published in an anthology to be launched at the World of Words Kuala Lumpur (WoW-KL) 2026 reading festival, which will take place at the Universiti Malaya Faculty of Education from Aug 14 to 15.
The students had earlier participated in the DEW Young Writers Camp at the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU).
Organised by the WoW-KL reading movement as part of activities leading up to the festival, the three-day camp featured Malaysian storytellers such as Shantini Venugopal and Aneeta Sundararaj, who guided the children through writing workshops, creative writing exercises and editorial mentoring sessions.
The children also explored creativity, literacy and self-expression under the guidance of APU’s Asia Pacific Language Centre (APLC) language specialists.
WoW-KL founder Sajeet Soudagar said the young writers demonstrated imagination, courage and determination, producing stories that deserve to be read and celebrated.
“Every child has a story. The challenge is not teaching them to write, but giving them the confidence to believe their story matters,” he said in a press release.
APLC senior manager Sharen Mand said with the right environment and encouragement, opportunities such as these help unlock the potential of young authors.
The WoW-KL 2026 festival, which is open to members of the public, will feature panel discussions, workshops and performances.
With the theme of the article in mind, carry out the following English language activities.
1Find five interesting nouns or adjectives from today’s newspaper. Swap the words with a friend and use them to create a short story. Your story must include all five words — but there’s a twist: add a surprising ending!
2 Choose a news story that catches your attention. Transform it into a comic strip by showing the main events through drawings and dialogue. Be creative and present your comic to the class.
The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme promotes English language learning in primary and secondary schools nationwide. For Star-NiE enquiries, email starnie@thestar.com.my.
