As of the 15th of July, The Fay Khoo Award for Food+Drink Writing is officially accepting entries for the third edition of the writing competition. Entries close on the 15th of September.

This year they will be scrapping formal categories – but still require submissions in the vein of personal narratives, reportage, and creative non-fiction – and instead will select the top three best entries from the submission pool. Judging will be done by John Brunton (the food and travel contributor for The Guardian), award director Bettina Chua Abdullah, and author Melissa De Silva.

As before, the competition is open to all citizens and residents of ASEAN countries, aged 16 and above. Competitors may submit a maximum of three entries, with a fee of RM20 per piece.

The winners will be announced at the 9th George Town Literary Festival in November, where they will receive a RM1,500 cash prize and RM500 in book vouchers. A Fay Khoo Award for Food+Drink Writing anthology will also be published this year, featuring selections from the different longlists over the last three years.

This year’s submissions must be sent to Hikayat, the nexus for art, literature and culture in Penang. For more details on submission guidelines, email thefaykhooaward@hikayat.asia, or visit the official Facebook page.

UPDATE: The Fay Khoo Awards is now accepting entries in comic and graphic story format! Embrace the visual element of food and flex your artistic muscles in four to eight pages in any of the submission styles detailed above.