Young writer Augustina Macutay Kitabiri (in red) is seen at the recent launch of the book 'The Eye' in Petaling Jaya. Photo: Yee Theen Gee
It was the start of the literary journey for 20 young writers, aged 12-16. The recent launch of The Eye: A Young Writers’ Anthology at BookXcess in Tropicana Gardens Mall, Petaling Jaya, was exciting, to say the least. The place was packed with supporters and those who wanted to get a glimpse of the young scribes and a copy of the book.
The Eye is the culmination of the Junior Writers Programme 2023 organised by writer, editor and trainer Brigitte Rozario. During the seven-month programme, the writers learnt the nuts and bolts of writing fiction.
At the launch, the young writers read excerpts from their stories as well as shared their experiences in writing a short story for the book.
The theme of the book is “eye”, which can be interpreted in various ways.
From stories about eye transplants to bionic eyes, the book also has tales of the more bizarre such as a third eye, an eyeball in the mail and even a shop selling eyes.
Among the stories were two that focused on friendship bordering on something more; not unusual from teen writers.
Augustina Macutay Kitabiri, 15, wrote about events in two friends’ lives and everything that happens in a piece titled In The Blink Of An Eye.
The talented young writers posing for a group photograph at the book launch. Photo: Yee Theen Gee
“I’m rather excited as this is a big accomplishment for me, and also the first book I have a byline in. I’m glad I could take part in this programme,” said Kitabiri, who attends school at Dignity for Children Foundation. Her ambition is to be a lawyer, and she enjoys writing.
Her story is about a girl named Alicia and her friend Jason and the awkwardness between them.
She admitted that parts of her story are based on her and her friend.
“I wrote about us because I could easily describe it and because I was struggling to find something to write. This made it easier to flesh out the characters and share the emotions.
“I found it a bit challenging to explain things in a way people would understand. The part that was particularly tough was figuring out a way to end it,” she said.
Wong Eu Kenn, 16, found the whole writing and publishing process “a tad eye-opening”. He found it challenging to come up with a plot.
Wong Eu Kenn found the plot the hardest part in his writing process. Photo: Yee Theen Gee
“I’m grateful and I definitely learned a lot. Figuring out an attractive plot and topic to write about was tough. Doing this in the future is not going to be easy, so I’m glad I was humbled early,” said Wong.
Wong’s story, For Your Eyes Only, is different from the other stories. The story is told in the form of letters that go back and forth between two friends.
“I feel like I still gave a sense of story and plot between those letters. I also found it interesting because I’ve never written a story like this before. It felt new,” he explained.
Wong is part of The Star’s BRATs programme, which he joined this year.
The Eye is full of unconventional stories about health problems, sci-fi, violence, drama and many more, written by talented young writers with big dreams.
The launch also featured a cheque presentation by the Junior Writers from last year. They presented a cheque for RM1,754.50 to Michelle Lim, head of partnerships at Thrive Well. The amount is the total royalties from the sale of last year’s book, Secrets & Lies.Every year, the royalties from the book sales go to charity.
This year, the recipient of The Eye’s royalties is Yayasan Chow Kit, a non-profit organisation that caters to youths in the Chow Kit area of Kuala Lumpur.
This is the sixth book produced by the Junior Writers Programme, which started in 2018. The Eye is now available for at BookXcess outlets.
