Writing Competition for UK Schools - Win a free virtual visit
Free Writing Competition for UK Schools - win a free virtual hour with an author or poet!
To celebrate their debut Book Week, and to have something exciting to look forward to after a year marred by covid - Authors Abroad are launching a writing competition for students.
There is a poetry competition and a short story competition for both primary and secondary schools.
Finish the poem/short story started by the poet or author and whichever pupil completes it the most impressively will win a free virtual hour’s visit by the act who’s story or poem they completed! As well as a signed book for themselves.
Primary Schools.
Short Story started by Claire Culliford
Poem started by Kev Payne
Secondary Schools
Short Story started by Kathryn Evans
Poem started by Karl Nova
Key Dates and Competition Information
Students can finish a poem or a short story started by a master of the craft - if their ending is chosen as the best, then their school will win a virtual hour with the author or poet who’s work they completed!
Who can enter?
Any school within the UK can enter, they do not have to be an Authors Abroad customer. You must finish the correct story for your age group though - i.e. primary school students could not complete Karl’s poem.
Kev Payne and Claire Culliford, open to entries for pupils up to Year 6.
Karl Nova and Kathryn Evans are open to entries for pupils in Year 7 to Year 9.
Word Count
Poems - maximum of 150 words
Short stories - maximum of 500 words
The poem/story starter provided by the author does not count towards the word count
Deadline and entry method
Schools should send in their top three entries to yvonne1@caboodlebooks.co.uk by 24th June 2021. Subject header ‘Writing Competition (Name of poet or author whose work you are completing) (Name of school)’
Please ensure you send in only your top 3 entries, once. You cannot email in later with changes or amendments. We do not want to receive multiple emails from parents or students directly - one email from a member of school staff/volunteer with that school’s top 3 chosen entries for a category.
You will receive an email letting you know that your email has safely been received and that the entries can be read. Please be aware this will be a manual response after we have checked we can open your attachments - it is not automatically generated so will not be instant, especially outside of office hours.
Can a school enter both categories?
Yes. You can only win one prize but you can enter both age appropriate categories. If you have exceptionally talented children and have produced the best entry in both categories, you will be asked which prize you prefer to claim, and the runner up will receive the visit for the remaining category.
Prize
Winners will be announce within 2 weeks of the deadline.
For each category Authors Abroad will provide the winning child with a signed book and their school will win a virtual hour with the relevant poet/author.
The ‘visit’ will be live, not a pre-recorded video, and can be delivered via the platform of the school’s choosing. You can claim it at a mutually convenient time before July 31st 2022. Please note you cannot claim your free visit during peak weeks - the week that contains National Poetry Day, or the week that contains World Book Day.
Winning schools must make parents and guardians aware that an author/poet is visiting and allow them the chance to purchase signed books. There is no minimum order or an obligation to buy, but parents must know of the opportunity to purchase autographed books.
You will receive an hour for free, if the school wishes, they can expand this into a longer day and purchase additional sessions at a discounted rate.
Story Starters.
Primary Schools. Pupils up to Year 6 (no minimum age)
Short Story by Claire Culliford to complete (maximum 500 words, no minimum word count):
Sami the snail was snoring. Quiet, slow, little snores, because snails do everything quietly and slowly. Suddenly, someone shouted something from the end of the garden. This made Sami wake right up! Sami wondered what had happened. So she began to slide across the grass towards the bush the shouting sound had come from. She crawled silently around the leaves, to the back of the bush. There she was surprised to see…
Poem by Kev Payne to finish (maximum 150 words, no minimum word count)
The headteacher called us to the hall one day
Stood at the front then started to say
“I’d like to introduce you to our new school pet,
It’s going to be the best one yet!
“We’ve got a hamster, a giant snail,
A crocodile and a whale,
But now it’s time for something new
So without further ado…
"Ta da! Voila!” They said with glee
And brought out the pet for all to see
Everybody gasped
Everybody stared
Some started cheering
Some looked scared
For there before us was a…
Secondary Schools. Pupils from Year 7 to Year 9
Short Story by Kathryn Evans to complete (maximum 500 words, no minimum word count). Choice of two starters depending on the genre your students prefer. Either is fine and your top three do not have to be ending the same starter.
The three girls looked down the side of the cliff. From the top, the body looked just like a broken doll.
“Well, that was unexpected.”
“Not unwelcome though.”
“No. Not unwelcome. But what are we going to do now? When school find out…”
“They can’t. That’s obvious enough. We’ll ….”
OR
Firefly glared at the crowd around him. He knew he hadn’t imagined it. The (________) in his hand was proof enough of that. He understood why they didn’t believe him, but all that had all happened a long time ago and besides, he hadn’t lied then and he wasn’t lying now.
Poem by Karl Nova to finish (maximum 150 words, no minimum word count)
It’s a journey of discovery
you take steps just where they’ll lead
and you have to keep going
without really knowing
what the end is going to be
but it seems to unfold
the further you go
you even feel excitement stirring in your soul
Piece by piece you’re solving the puzzle
even though you began with everything muddled
When you have your top three entries for a category, email them to yvonne1@caboodlebooks.co.uk by 24th June 2021.
Schools can enter both the relevant short story and poetry competition.
Winners will be announced within 2 weeks of closing.
Any questions - email yvonne@caboodlebooks.co.uk
FIND OUT ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND POETS YOU COULD WIN A FREE VIRTUAL HOUR WITH BELOW
Claire is an author best known for her international series The Little Helpers, which supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Goals and has been translated into a large number of languages. She is passionate about nature and the environment and spreads key messages in a fun way to the younger generation.
Claire has been a writer, teacher and translator for 20 years. She now writes environment themed books for children to share her passion for nature.
Claire Culliford’s Author Page
Kev is an author, illustrator, poet and was a primary school teacher for 17 years, so is very used to working with young students and getting them enthused about learning. A hugely versatile man Kev is also a puppeteer and a town crier! Kev has written books exploring unusual animals, silly rhyming picture books and a laugh out loud collection of poetry - he has something for everyone in his collection and is guaranteed to get pupils engaged and wanting more - whether they are looking at non-fiction, fiction, poetry or illustration. During lockdown, to help those who were struggling, Kev challenged himself to write a poem about looking after your mental health and how to keep happy every day. He shared each poem on social media and gained quite a following with his upbeat and inspirational poems.
Kathryn is a YA author and hugely inspirational motivational speaker. Kathryn's debut book 'More of me' was Winner of The Edinburgh Book Festival First Book Award 2016, Winner of 'The Crystal Kite award' given by The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Nominated for the 2017 Carnegie Medal and short listed for many others including the Concorde Book Awards. She is a fantastic example of resilience and despite obstacles managed to fence competitively for her country. When covid hit she learnt how to use Tik Tok and started sharing messages of hope, solidarity and inspiration for young people across the country, as well as creating a special covid themed video assembly for schools to share with their pupils via remote learning.
Karl is one of the UK's leading poets and hip hop artists delivering his work in his own unique, witty and energetic style. His debut book, ‘Rhythm and Poetry’ won the 2018 CLiPPA poetry prize. Last year he was awarded the Ruth Rendell Award for outstanding services to children's literature. He was the first poet to ever receive this award and it recognised how Karl has continued to inspire children during lockdown, still delivering virtual visits. He is an ambassador for the Story Museum and National Poetry Day. He has worked with the Premier League on writing programmes and is guaranteed to leave a lasting impact on students.
