A St. Lucian Has Been Invited to Attend the 2018 Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition Award Ceremony and Reception at Buckingham Palace

From June 13th to July 27th 2018, 150 judges who were selected by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), read and scored thousands of entries submitted by the young writers from around the Commonwealth, who participated in the 2018 Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition. 

Each year, a few judges are selected and invited to attend the award ceremony in London. Of the 150 judges who served on the Senior and Junior categories, a St. Lucian has been invited to attend the 2018 Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition Award Ceremony and Reception at Buckingham Palace.

Michelle N. Samuel, who is a 2017 YLAI Alumna, Writer, Entrepreneur, Missionary and Visionary, served as a judge for the Junior category for this year’s essay competition, for which she read and scored a total of 86 entries. The entries she judged were written by young writers under the age of 14 years, and they resided in the Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Ghana, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Seychelles, Malaysia, Lesotho, Nigeria, Cyprus, United Kingdom, Swaziland, Jamaica, Fiji, and Canada.

During her judging experience, Michelle wrote a series of blogs and created videos to keep interested persons up to date on the judging process, the first of which can be seen here.

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, on behalf of Her Majesty, will present this year’s Awards at the Ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, 22nd November 2018 at 1:20 pm. The 2018 Winners and Runners-up of this year’s competition will be recognized and celebrated. The event will be attended by members of the international press, the winners and runners-up of the competition and their parents, world-renowned authors and writers, and other select invited judges from around the Commonwealth.

Individuals who serve as judges for the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition receive a list of ‘perks’;

* A certificate signed by the Director and Chair of The Royal Commonwealth Society.

* The option of receiving a copy of The RCS’ quarterly magazine, Commonwealth Voices, featuring the Winners and Winners’ Week.

* The opportunity to connect and network with other judges across the Commonwealth.

Only a few select judges will receive a royal invitation to attend the award ceremony and reception from the Master of the Royal Household.

The opportunity to write a blog for The RCS website and to be featured on The RCS and Essay Competition social media platforms.

Further information on The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition can be found here.