Take a bow

With the moon up and celebrations already underway in a few countries, it's a wrap for Sehri Tales 2021.

What a trip this has been! With more than 1,300 signed up on Talespeople, an average of 50-75 posts per night, this has been our biggest season since we went public three years ago. This year's tales also displayed an incredible range, with seasoned professionals joining in along with complete newbies. We even got audio clips and animated entries! This was also the year we saw the birth of a loving community. We were able to find sponsors for three whole prompts – another milestone for us.

Talespeople is truly thankful to all the participants, new and old who joined us and stayed with us. A big shout out to the cheerleaders who took it upon themselves to reach out to complete strangers and keep their spirits up.  A huge vote of thanks to the sponsors who allowed us to give something back to our dedicated writers. So much of our success this year is due to the strong partnership we had with Star Youth, for which we are immensely grateful.

And finally, thank you, dear Reader, for staying with us through this journey. This month has not been easy, with another Eid spent during a pandemic, and there are trials yet ahead of us. But if we can unite for the love of a good story, imagine what more we can achieve. The Sehri Tales team wishes you all Eid Mubarak!

The author is a writer and journalist, and the creator of the annual Sehri Tales creative writing challenge.