Somewhere in the world right now there is a young person thinking: “I probably should write more.” Well — excellent timing. Because this writing competition is politely (but enthusiastically) nudging young people to do exactly that. The theme? “My Estonia.”
Which is a wonderfully big question and slightly dangerous one too. Because once you start answering it, you may discover you have quite a lot to say.
Estonia means different things to different people.
Maybe Estonia is the place where you were born.
Maybe it’s the place your grandparents won’t stop talking about.
Maybe it’s a country you visit occasionally and leave with a suitcase full of chocolate, black bread and complicated feelings about leaving a piece of your heart there. (That might just be me.)
Or maybe Estonia is something you are still discovering.
Wherever you fall on that spectrum, Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom’s youth writing competition “My Estonia” would love to hear your story.
What to write about, you ask?
For young Estonians growing up outside Estonia — including here in Australia — the theme opens the door to all sorts of stories.
- Maybe it’s about learning Estonian from grandparents who insist your pronunciation still needs work. (It’s perfect, come on!)
- Perhaps it’s about your first visit to Estonia and realising suddenly that the place you’ve heard about all your life is actually real. (Yes, it is!)
- Or maybe it’s about what Estonia means when you’re living 15,000 kilometres away and can’t see your lovely Estonian family quite as often as you’d like. (You’re not alone.)
All of these stories count. And yours will be uniquely yours — which is exactly why the world should hear it.
So go on. Don’t deprive us of your creative genius. You never know whose day — or whose life — your words might touch.
What are my rules to follow, you ask?
- If you are between 15 and 25 years old, you can enter.
- Your text can be: a short story, an essay, a poem or another short literary form. Basically — if it involves words arranged in an interesting way, you’re on the right track.
- Entries can be written in Estonian or English, and other languages are also welcome as long as a translation into one of those languages is included.
- The only strict limit is the length: no more than five pages. So yes, sadly this is not the moment for your 54-chapter fantasy trilogy about medieval Tallinn.
You see, the people reading your work are very much into stories.
Submissions will be reviewed by an international jury including representatives from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Estonian Literary Museum, VEMU Estonian Museum in Canada, and other cultural organisations.
Now, before you start imagining a panel of extremely serious people sitting behind towering stacks of manuscripts — don’t worry. The jury members are some of the most thoughtful and knowledgeable people working with Estonian culture and diaspora stories today. In other words, exactly the kind of readers you would want for a piece about Estonia. They are:
- Liina Viies – Adviser for the Diaspora, Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Piret Noorhani – Chief Archivist, VEMU Estonian Museum Canada
- Marin Laak – Senior Researcher, Estonian Literary Museum
- Iivi Zajedova – Tammepuu Club
- Ants Veetõusme – 20 August Club
- Maja Soomägi – Vabamu.
In other words — people who genuinely care about stories and the many ways Estonia lives in them.
Need inspiration? Writing can start in many ways — with a memory, with a question, or with a blank page that slowly begins to fill.
The competition is also inspired by Vabamu’s exhibition “Worldwide Estonia”, which explores 150 years of Estonian migration and diaspora life.
It’s true: Estonians have been travelling, settling, adapting and carrying their stories around the world for ages. Which means one important thing: Estonia doesn’t only live in one place — it lives wherever Estonians tell their stories.
And if you’re still waiting for inspiration to strike — here’s a radical suggestion: grab a pen (or turn on your computer), start writing, and see what happens. Inspiration has a funny habit of arriving halfway through the second paragraph.
And yes, there is a pretty exciting prize…drumroll please!
The winner will be announced in June 2026, with awards presented later in the year.
And here is the part that might make your keyboard (or pen) suddenly jump with joy: the winning author will have the opportunity to present their work in Estonia, with travel supported by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Yes, that’s right. One piece of writing could take you all the way to Tallinn.
Not bad for five pages. (Some of us may be slightly jealous about the age limit… but we’ll survive.)
Let’s sum it up: here’s how you enter
📅 Deadline: 1 May 2026
📄 Length: up to 5 pages
🌍 Languages: Estonian or English (other languages accepted with translation)
📧 Submit to: maja.soomagi(at)vabamu.ee
If you’re a young writer sitting somewhere in Australia wondering whether your story counts — the answer is simple.
It does. Now go write it.
And who knows — the next powerful story about Estonia might come from a young writer sitting in Tassie, Perth, Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne, Brisbane… or somewhere entirely unexpected.
Perhaps your first sentence is already waiting… Good luck!
Thank you!
Thank you to Maja Soomägi from Vabamu for sharing information about this competition.
Read more
Writing Competition for Youth (in English)
Kirjutamisvõistlus “Minu Eesti” (Eesti keeles)
Estonia Worldwide exhibition at Vabamu (in English)
