The PAGE International Literary Contest closed on 31 May 2026 after six months of submissions. The response exceeded all expectations: across the partner countries, more than 500 stories were received.
Behind this remarkable figure are hundreds of writers who accepted an unusual creative challenge: to imagine original fiction that could be enjoyed by young adults with intellectual or cognitive disabilities—and, more broadly, by anyone who benefits from clear and accessible language.
Writing accessibly from the very first sentence
Accessible books are still most often created by adapting an existing work. A classic novel, contemporary story or educational text is rewritten according to Easy-to-Read and Easy-to-Understand principles. This work is essential: adaptation opens the doors of literature to readers who might otherwise be excluded.
The PAGE contest proposed a complementary approach. Instead of adapting stories after they had been written, authors were invited to consider accessibility from the beginning of the creative process.
How can a writer build an engaging plot while keeping its structure easy to follow? How can emotions remain rich without relying on abstract language? How can characters, places and changes in time be introduced clearly? And how can a story be accessible without becoming childish?
These questions were at the heart of the contest. They also explain why the initiative appears to have resonated so strongly with authors across Europe.
A challenge that touched authors personally
The messages accompanying the French submissions show how deeply many participants connected with the purpose of PAGE. Some were teachers, librarians, social workers or educators. Others had personal experience of disability or cognitive difficulties through their own lives or those of family members.
One participant described accessible writing as “a fascinating adventure” that required her to rethink the usual codes and techniques of writing for adults. Her motivation was also very personal: her 20-year-old autistic son struggles to find accessible books that interest him, as many available titles feel too childish.
Another author explained that she had become aware of the need for accessible reading through both her child, who is autistic and has multiple learning difficulties, and a parent living with early cognitive decline. For her, taking part in the contest was a way of supporting an initiative that could benefit very different readers.
Other participants wrote about empowerment, inclusion, self-confidence and the desire to help readers feel less alone. One author, formerly a social worker, described the contest as an opportunity to promote access to culture for a public that is still too often excluded from cultural and social life.
These testimonies reveal something important: accessible writing is not only a technical exercise. It asks authors to reconsider whom literature addresses, whom it represents and whom it may unintentionally leave behind.
Stories as diverse as their authors
The submissions covered an extraordinarily wide range of genres and subjects.
Friendship, love and family relationships appeared frequently, alongside stories about school, work, identity, disability, self-confidence and the transition to adulthood. Other texts explored racism, migration, bullying, mental health, ecology, war and the acceptance of difference. Readers could also encounter mermaids, robots, medieval characters, mysterious castles, heroic animals and imaginary worlds.
The Croatian call alone received 78 stories, of which 49 met all the formal eligibility criteria. Its jury highlighted recurring themes such as friendship and mutual support, inclusion and belonging, family and intergenerational relationships, emotional wellbeing, environmental awareness and overcoming challenges.
Evaluations accross the partnership also showed that writing accessible fiction is a demanding craft. Common difficulties included complex sentence structures, abstract ideas, frequent changes of time or perspective, numerous characters and vocabulary that had not been explained. These observations will help PAGE develop future resources and activities for authors interested in Easy Language creative writing.
Importantly, representatives of the intended readership also took part in the evaluation process. Their feedback confirmed the appeal of clear storylines, familiar situations, recognisable characters, humour, supportive relationships and positive emotional development.
Two complementary strands, one accessible collection
The results of the contest will contribute to the original-fiction strand of the PAGE collection.
The collection will therefore bring together two complementary approaches: accessible adaptations of classic works and original stories conceived as accessible literature from the outset. Both have the same ambition—to make reading, imagination and literary culture available to a wider range of people.
PAGE books will be available as EPUB files in the PAGE application and for download from the project website. Limited printed editions will also be produced in French, Italian, Portuguese, Croatian and Slovenian.
The entire collection will be supported by an Easy-to-Read and Easy-to-Understand dictionary containing approximately 2,000 entries. This shared resource will help readers understand potentially unfamiliar words while moving independently through the books.
The beginning of a European community
The closing of the contest is not the end of the story. The enthusiasm generated by the call, the diversity of the submissions and the generosity of the authors all point towards a growing European community committed to cognitive accessibility in publishing.
More than 500 stories were submitted. But the most meaningful result may be the questions that hundreds of writers have now begun to ask: Who is able to enter this story? Who may be prevented from understanding it? And how can we write differently so that more readers can experience the pleasure, emotion and freedom of fiction?