If you like to write poems or stories, why not enter our competition? If you are eleven years old or under, you could see your work published in our Young Writers Anthology AND win £150 worth of books.
All you have to do is send us your poem or story of 500 words or fewer. They can be about ANYTHING you like, so let your imagination run wild!
HOW TO ENTER
The Young Writers Competition is FREE to enter to young writers from all around the world. Last year we had entries from Bournemouth to Berlin, and even Japan!
There are two age categories for this competition: Years 3 & 4 and Years 5 & 6
Your story can be about anything you like, as long as it is your own original work, so let your imaginations go wild! Simply email us your story at youngwritersprize@bournemouth.ac.uk, putting your School Year (e.g. Year 4) in the email subject box. At the top of your email, write your name, address, age and the name of your school. Please also give us the name and email address of the adult who has read the terms and conditions and is supporting your entry.
NB The CLOSING DATE for entries is midnight on January 16th 2022.
WIN FABULOUS BOOK PRIZES!
The winner of both the Year 3&4 and Year 5&6 category will win a £150 voucher for wonderful books.
The runner up in each category will receive a £50 book token.
PLUS: The best entry received from a child, of any age group, who is based in Dorset will win The Dorset Young Writers Prize and receive a book voucher for £150.
EXTRA PRIZE FOR DORSET-BASED SCHOOLS
The Dorset school to have the most entries shortlisted, will have their hard work rewarded with a bumper delivery of Maz Evans’ books for an entire class. Maz is the best-selling author of the ‘Who Let the Gods Out?’ series, Vi Spy (and more) whose books are guaranteed to have everyone chuckling, so if you are a child, parent or teacher at a Dorset-school, why not encourage all of your class to enter!
“The whole process of entering the competition has been very rewarding for the children and the awards ceremony was truly special. All attendees were in awe of the author Ali Sparkes and captivated by her. The children were genuinely excited and many now aspire to careers in writing. We can’t wait to engage more children with the competition next year. Thank you”
– Sam Fuller, Deputy Head of Ringwood Junior School
The Judging Panel
All of the entries will be read and long-listed by our panel of dedicated writers and lecturers at Bournemouth University who will then present their shortlist to our judges (see below). It is their job to make the difficult decision as to which writers should be our overall prize winners.
Our judges are:
Maz Evans
Still unsure how it happened, Maz Evans is the author of the bestselling WHO LET THE GODS OUT? series, which has sold to 19 countries worldwide and has received over 20 award nominations. Her acclaimed live events have featured at countless literary festivals and primary schools around the UK. Her career began as a TV journalist and she still regularly broadcasts her views on anything from politics to parenthood on the BBC and the bus. She lives in Dorset with her family.
Emma Scattergood
A senior lecturer on MA Creative Writing & Publishing at Bournemouth University, Emma is also the Editorial Director of Fresher Publishing. A former journalist, she was the deputy editor of Pony magazine in her early career, before going on to write for national women’s magazines. She is the author of seven books, including several works of non-fiction and one novel, written under a pseudonym. Emma has an MA in Critical and Creative Writing from Winchester University and, as well as teaching creative writing at Bournemouth University, enjoys leading writing workshops in Dorset.
Ali Sparkes
Ali is the author of over 40 books, including the ShapeShifter series, the Unleashed series, the Switch series and Frozen in Time, for which she won a Blue Peter Book award. A former BBC journalist, she lives in Southampton and writes from her POD (Place of Dreams) in the garden.
Stay up to date
You can keep up to date with competition news through our Facebook page and Instagram accounts.