Goderdzi Gorgiladze, student of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU), has won a student .literary competition Autumn Legend 2020. He received the 1st prize – GEL 1,000, as well as a competition prize and Silknet’s special gift. The winner will become a member of the jury for the 2021 literary competition. The second and the third places were divided between Davit Kiladze and Ani Kiladze, who received GEL 700 and GEL 500, respectively. “I am so happy. This project is very important for me. Let me express my gratitude to everybody. I could not imagine that the year 2020 would be so successful for me,” Goderdzi Gorgiladze said.

Like the improvisation round, the awards ceremony was held in an unusual format – it was held online, without supporters; however, good mood caused by unexpected victory was still maintained. The jury members selected three best authors out of 10 finalists. The stories of finalists were printed in a special collection and presented to all participants as gifts.

Rector George Sharvashidze said that “this year’s competition was held in an unusual format. However, it caused huge interest. Several hundred of students joined the process. It is the 12th consecutive year we are conducting Autumn Legend with our partners and this year we had more participants than in previous years. 10 finalists were selected and their works have already been printed and published. They are taking their first steps towards their creative career.”

Since the day of its foundation, the literary competition’s improvisation round was traditionally held in Kakheti. However, due to the pandemic and the epidemiological situation in the country, the organizers decided to hold the competition in the TSU yard. The writing marathon was held with the observance of all regulations imposed by the government, social distancing and use of personal protective equipment. 10 finalists identified in the first round participated in the improvisation round. The contestants were given 12 hours to create new stories on a topic selected by the jury.

Lika Metreveli, Silknet’s corporate communications manager, said that despite online format, the competition was held as usually with the participation of many interesting contestants. She also added that “this year’s Autumn Legend was as successful as previous ones. We managed to cope with this challenge and implement the project successfully. We already have the winners and a brochure containing the works of 10 finalists has been published.”

Along with traditional members of the jury - writers Dato Turashvili, Teona Dolenjashvili and Maka Ldokonen, two new members Ana Kordzaia-Samadashvili and Davit Gabunia were also added. Last year winner, Tsotne Avsajanishvili was also among the jury members. Further, Georgian writer Davit Kartvelishvili also joined the jury online, from the United States.

Maka Ldokonen, a permanent member of the jury, said that Autumn Legend managed to cope with modern challenges and respond to time. “This year, we had very good contestants and each story deserved a plus score and many plus scores. Let me thank the participants, those students who accepted this challenge and created very interesting works with unique titles and plots,” she added.

The student literary competition Autumn Legend – a joint project of TSU and the company Silknet - was launched in 2009. It aims at discovering talented young people and paving their ways for future success. Students from Georgia’s accredited higher educational institutions were eligible to participate in the competition. The competition further expanded in 2020 and students of vocational institutions also joined it.