The event has been organised in association with the St Patrick’s Festival, the celebration of the Irish national holiday held between March 17 and 20.

The Ambassador of Ireland to Thailand, Brendan Rogers, will host an event to celebrate St Patrick’s Day 2016 today at the Eastin Grand Hotel in Bangkok.

Under this year’s theme, “World with No Boundaries”, the literary competition has attracted almost 800 student entries from across the country.

The competition was divided into four regions and open to students studying in the Kingdom between the ages of 14 and 18. They were required to write an essay of between 800 and 1,200 words.

Previously, CityLife Chiang Mai, organiser of the contest in the North, announced the region’s winner to be Linda Michel from Nakornpayap International School.

Phuket Gazette, organiser of the contest in the South, announced that region’s winner to be Eve Whittaker from HeadStart International School Phuket.

The winners of the Bangkok/Central and the Northeastern regions, and finally the national winner, will be announced at the ceremony today.

Each regional winner will receive a Bt10,000 cash prize and a certificate. The national winner will win a trip for the author and one parent to Dublin where they will attend the senior international IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards ceremony.

The Dublin event offers the richest literary prize in the world and gives young essayists a chance to meet and take part in readings with the winning author.

The Winning Awards Presentation Ceremony will welcome 250 students, parents, teachers and Bangkok national judges as well as others keen to promote the use of the English language and creative writing.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Wisut Ponnimit, Thailand’s well-known manga and animation artist, whose works are also popular in Japan. He will relate his unique way of storytelling through illustration rather than solely through text and also offer useful tips for all creative writers to help inspire young students to continue with their writing.

Presented annually with the goal of promoting excellence in creative writing, the essay contest is a joint effort by The Nation, NJ Magazine and strategic partners Phuket Gazette and CityLife Chiang Mai with support from the Embassy of Ireland, the OCS Group, the Kerry Group, the Irish Chamber of Commerce in Thailand and the Emerald Cultural Institute.