The Once Upon A Book Storytelling Competition 2024/25 is organised by the Native-speaking English Teacher (NET) Section, Curriculum Development Institute (CDI), Education Bureau and supported by the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD).

Aim and Objectives

The aim of the Once Upon A Book Storytelling Competition is to promote reading, as reading extensively provides students with powerful learning opportunities and contributes to whole-person development.

The objectives of the competition are to provide students with the opportunities to:

• explore diverse narratives, characters, ideas, and emotions through reading;

• express themselves freely, confidently, and creatively in English by sharing their passion for reading a book of their choice using a range of storytelling techniques;

• develop their communication skills and creativity through a thoughtful video presentation of a book; and

• cultivate values and attitudes through their engagement with books and storytelling.

Schools in each region - Hong Kong, Kowloon, New Territories and New Territories East) compete. The winner is the school with the most video submissions. 

Each participant receives a certificate of participation

Submission deadline: 27 February 2026

Entries can feature either fiction or non-fiction books.

Each school may submit two videos for the Live Unplugged competition. Videos will be selected to compete in the live performance competition. 

Maximum 2 video entries per school

Entries can feature either fiction or non-fiction books.

Submission deadline: 27 February 2026

Results announced: 15 April 2026

Live performance: 29 & 30 April 2026