'Like an open door, these words were a gateway to wherever the entrants' imaginations might take them. For me, titles often come first. They spark something in my mind and, intrigued, I try to explore their meaning on the page. This year's competition entrants did us proud.'

Philip Ardagh, children's author and LitFest 2011 guest, who chose the title 'The Open Door' for the 2012 Oxford University Press Story Writing Competition

Winners - English Language

11 and under

Mariam Ahmed, age 8, Repton College Dubai; Venika Vachani, age 9, Uptown Primary School; Tashyaa Mehrotra, age 11, JSS International School.

Age 12-14

Alexandra Brock, age 14, British School Al Khubairat; Benedict Smith, age 13, British School Al Khubairat; Mary Kavanagh, age 13, British School Al Khubairat.

Age 15-18

Theresa Cherukaram age 17, Winchester School; Sarah Han, age 17, Dubai American Academy; Kian Newlyn, age 16, Jumeirah College.

Age 18+

Mohit Mandal New York University, Abu Dhabi; Dana Husam Abdallah, American University, Sharjah; Yousuf Tarek El-Abbasy, Petroleum Institute.

Winners and Commended Arabic

Adham Hatem Mahdi, Jud Moetasim Majid, Sara Amjad Abas, Nour Khalid Hamad, Mohammed Hassan Hasan, Dana Wafaei Tamimi, Hessa Abdul Latif Bil Ghozooz, Mohammed Al Hareth Hamdan, Israa Abdulla Ibrahim, Shaima Khamis Salem, Al Zahra Mohammed Noor Al Dein, Zainab Ahmad Al Yousif, Maitha Rashid Al Khayat, Sara Ahmad Abdulla, Hadeel Waleed Mohammed, Alaa Mansour Mohammed and Meira Rashid Khamis.

Creative Writing Workshop for 2012 Winners

Author Tim Bowler, who presented the prizes for the 2012 OUP Story Writing Competition, will return to Dubai in November 2012 to conduct a creative writing workshop for the winners.

The 2013 Competition

The title and submission dates for the 2013 OUP Story Writing Competition will be revealed in June 2012.