Wonderful Writers Competition 2023
Hi everyone, and welcome to Wonderful Writers - our creative writing competition run in partnership with Wirral Libraries.
There are two competitions, one for children aged between 7-8 years and other one for children aged 9-11 years. All entrants must live in Wirral.
This competition is open between 24th July to 9 September 2023.
We will award prizes to the writers of the first, second and third best story. First prize winners will receive a £25 book voucher. Second and Third prize winners will receive a £10 book voucher. We will also award commendation certificates to the winners and everyone else who writes a good story and also send a copy to school as well.
Stories will be displayed in local libraries and online and there will be a special storytelling event for all writers to attend and have the chance to read out their story.
Theme
There is no particular theme for this competition and you can pen a story in your favourite genre such as action, adventure, science fiction, fantasy, magical realism - it's up to you.
We only ask that stories are no longer than 1000 words.
What we are looking for?
The most important thing we are looking for is for your story to be as creative and amazing as possible. We really love reading imaginative stories.
Make sure your story has a great start, middle and ending to it.
At the start introduce where you story begins, can you describe this? We want to be transported from our office and land directly in your story so tell us what we can see, hear, smell, taste and feel.
Bring in your main character, are they the goodie? Perhaps you want them to be the baddie? We don’t mind. We do want you to describe them though. We want to close our eyes and imagine what your character looks like. Do they have a name? What are they like? Are they playful, brave, scary, scared, naughty or clever?
Now we want to read about what happens to them. There has to be some sort of problem for the main character to overcome. Stories can be fun or sad but must be interesting. imaginative and exciting.
Lastly, we want there to be an ending. Have you learnt something, about yourself or others?
Personally, and I am one of the judges by the way, I like stories that make me think rather than ones where people just fight each other. I do like a moral at the end of a story, just like in a fairy tale. An example could be do not be rude to people or do not always listen to what people tell you. Could there be a moral in your story?
You can stick some dialogue into your story if you want. Remember to mention how your characters talk by the way. Rather than,
“I am Lord Cosmic Charlie the Courageous,” said Charlie.
Have it a bit more like this,
“I am Lord Cosmic Charlie the Courageous,” boomed the grey bearded fool.
With all stories your reader will want to know how your character and, perhaps, the others, feels about things during the story. Are they sad and unhappy at the start, scared in the middle and hilariously happy at the end?
When you have finished your story, we want you to read through it and make sure you are happy with it. Perhaps let someone else read it and let them tell you what they think about it. Did they like it, did they understand what was going on, could they close their eyes and imagine that they were there?
Please also check that you have spelt everything correctly and, if you can, punctuate the story as much as you can. It’s always nice to have commas’ and full stops to let your reader have a breather. Using paragraphs is also a good idea as is the use of capital letters, speech bubbles and so on.
Check too that you are using really good adjectives to describe everything and verbs to describe what your characters are doing and adverbs to show how they are doing it.
Lastly, don’t forget to give it a really catchy title.
Just before I go, remember a story should be about getting what is in your imagination down onto your computer or on paper. Take your time and make sure you have written it all. Don’t worry about not writing 1000 words too. Think quality over quantity.
When you're ready to submit your story
Please make sure your parents, guardian or carer read our rules below before you submit your story.
If you have any queries, then ask your parent, guardian or carer to contact me on wonderfulwriters@readnowwritenow.org.uk.
To submit a story you need your parent, guardian or carer to email wonderfulwriters@readnowwritenow.org.uk
Don’t forget the deadline and best of luck.
Charlie
Summer Creative Writing Competition 2023 Rules
- The competition is organised, administered and judged by Read Now Write Now Limited (“Read Now Write Now”) and Wirral Libraries.
- Entry to this competition is open to persons who will be aged between 7 and 11 on the date the competition ends (09/09/2023) and who live in Wirral in the UK. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested. Entry will be in two age categories – ages 7 to 8 years (as at 09/09/2023) and 9 to 11 years (as at 09/09/2023).
- Entrants must write a fictional short story (no more than 1000 words in length). Entry is via email to wonderfulwriters@readnowwritenow.org.uk. Submissions must be made by an adult parent, other relative, guardian or carer. When submitting a story please ensure the subject box states: Submission 2023 along with the child’s name and story title.
In the email the adult must provide:
-the child’s full name;
-the child’s name they wish to be used if their story is displayed / is a winner (see below);
-their school if applicable;
-the child’s age.
The story must be attached as a word document only. All stories should be submitted in English. We can only accept stories which are 1000 words or under according to the word counter on the document.
When submitting the story, the adult must confirm they agree to these Terms and Conditions (including the use of the story submitted) on behalf of the entrant. The adult must provide their own contact and personal details (not the child’s) by way of contact telephone number and their relationship to the child.
The personal data provided will be used for the purposes of administering the competition. All winners names will be used when announcing the winners; and winners and commended writers names will be displayed next to their stories at selected Wirral libraries. Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now will use the contact details provided by the adult to send general updates as to the progress of the competition by email and other promotional activities which only they run. - Entry opens on 24th July 2023. Entry closes on 9th September 2023. Submissions received outside of this time frame will not be considered, so please do not wait until the last minute to submit your entry.
- Entrants can only enter individually. Only one entry per person is permitted and the story must be wholly written by the entrant only; stories cannot be written by more than one person. If more than one entry is submitted, only the entrant's first submission will be considered.
- Entries must be an original piece of fiction. If you are unclear on whether the content of a story contradicts these Terms and Conditions email wonderfulwriters@readnowwritenow.org.uk. As the stories may be published it is important that entrants do not include any personal details about themselves.
- Entries cannot be returned so please remember to retain a copy. Unsuccessful entrants will be contacted in respect of their entry but no feedback on any entry will be provided.
- All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. Both Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now Limited accept no responsibility if entrants ignore these Terms and Conditions and entrants agree to indemnify Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now against any claim by any third party from any breach of these Terms and Conditions.
- Entries must not contain defamatory, obscene, offensive, or any other unsuitable material. Entries must be suitable to be published or used online by Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now for audiences of all ages, but in particular for a child audience. If the story has troubling content the Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now may if required take advice from the NSPCC or the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and may refer the troubling content to the relevant authorities.
- Entrants retain the copyright in their entries but grant to both Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now a perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free licence to publish and post the entry online and on any other platforms yet to be envisaged. This licence will be deemed to include all the necessary rights and permissions to enable such use by the Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now to fulfil the prizes and to complete the administration of this competition.
- By submitting a story the entrant agrees that Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now may at their discretion edit, adapt, abridge or translate the entry for the purposes listed in clause 11 above.
- In the event that the entry is published online by either Wirral Libraries or Read Now Write Now, for the avoidance of doubt, only the story title, entrant’s name and age will be published with an entry.
- Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
- Originality and creativity
- Plot
- Characterisation
- Language
- Enjoyment
- Grammar and Presentation - The competition will be judged by Charlie Lea of Read Now Write Now and librarians employed by Wirral Libraries using the criteria above.
- There will be one winner for each age group plus second and third prizes in each age group. Commended stories will also be chosen by the judges.
- The entries from the 6 finalists and the commended writers will be shown in selected libraries across Wirral. Prizes will be awarded to the 3 finalists in each age category.
- The 6 finalists will be invited to a prize giving ceremony and we will require parental consent for pictures to be used for media and social media purposes.
- The parents or guardians of the top three finalists in each group will be contacted and further proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested at this stage.
- The decisions by Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now in relation to this competition is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
- Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now reserve the right to disqualify any entry which breaches any of these Terms and Conditions, or to withhold a prize if in its opinion entries do not reach the required standard.
- Wirral Libraries and Read Now Write Now reserve the right to amend these Terms and Conditions or cancel this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.
- Neither Wirral Libraries or Read Now Write Now can accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem with any server, Internet access, system or otherwise which may result in any entry being lost or not properly registered or recorded. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt.
- These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
