[press release]
Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts (BISLA), a liberal arts higher education institution based in Bratislava, Slovakia, has launched a major high school essay competition.
Inspired by its participation in the international project Reading for Meaning and Purpose (REMAP), which seeks to help students find their place in the world and meaning in life through literature, BISLA is asking Slovak high schoolers to imagine themselves as their favourite author, and to describe: Why that author? And what book they would write next?
BISLA, as a REMAP project participant, encourages the widest range of submissions, so this year’s competition welcomes essays in Spanish as well as in English and in Slovak. The competition is not a grammar test, but a chance for students to express their ideas, concepts and creativity – inspired by the books they most love reading.
Essays of up to 9,000 characters in length (about 5 pages) can be submitted, via email to esej@bisla.sk, until 16 February 2026. The top eight essays will win prizes ranging from €500 to €100. An awards ceremony, at which the prizes will be distributed, will take place at BISLA in Bratislava on 27 March 2026.