Here at Fresher, we are excited to tell you all about our Writing Wizardry Competition awards night, hosted in collaboration with local bestselling children’s author, Maz Evans. The shortlisted primary school writers, along with their families and teachers, were all invited to see Maz Evans read the winning stories and to find out who had been awarded the top prizes, £150 of books from Waterstones, Bournemouth.
The children, who had submitted stories inspired by the theme of Magic, were delighted to see their stories published in the Writing Wizardry anthology, which was designed by Bournemouth’s own students from the English and Communication and Media courses.
The awards night also saw a flying visit from the Writing Wizards and Witches, another selection of Bournemouth University’s students, this time from the MA Creative Writing and Publishing course, who had visited many of the schools represented to deliver free writing workshops.
“For the children, just knowing that they are invited to a prestigious awards ceremony is wonderful. They benefit hugely from spending time in the University environment, which raises their aspirations about what they can achieve.”
Sam Fuller, Deputy Head Teacher at Ringwood Junior School
“Running the school writing workshops and the competition is just so rewarding. It is wonderful to see the children glow with new confidence when they find out they have been shortlisted or won a prize. Their smiles, and the tears of joy from the parents, say it all!”
Emma Scattergood, Senior Lecturer
You can find out more about the free writing workshops for primary schools, and the Writing Wizardry Competition by visiting the ‘Schools’ tab above.