Young Writer’s Competition

To be creative. To express their ideas and imagination. To journal their thoughts and feelings. To help them relax.

These are just four of the brilliant reasons young people aged between five and 18 gave The National Literacy Trust ’s Annual Literacy survey for why they write.  At Wimbledon BookFest we know creative writing is not just fun, it’s an incredibly powerful tool that can help children develop critical thinking skills, creativity and power their imaginations. 

It’s why we launched Wimbledon BookFest’s Young Writer’s Competition as part of our Word Up! Programme for Schools. 

The competition is open to all schools across the Borough of Merton.

Awards Categories

Juniors category – for writers under 12

There are two prizes – one for stories and one for poetry – for each of the Key Stages below.
Word count is 100 words (Minimum) 500 words (Maximum) 

  • Key Stage 1 – years 1 & 2 
  • (Lower) Key Stage 2 – years 3 & 4  
  • (Upper) Key Stage 2 – years 5 & 6  
  • There is also a separate category for SEN Schools taking part.  

Teachers are asked to select and submit a maximum of 3 entries per category.
(i.e. 3 poems and 3 short stories per Key Stage per school). 

Download full guidelines for Junior category entries

Seniors category for writers up to 18

There are two prizes – one for stories and one for poetry – for each of the Key Stages below. Word count is 100 words (Minimum) 500 words (Maximum)  

  • Key Stage 3 – years 7, 8 ,9  
  • Key Stage 4- years 10 & 11  
  • Key Stage 5 – years 12 & 13  
  • There is also a separate category for SEN Schools taking part. 

Teachers are asked to select and submit a maximum of 3 entries per category.
(i.e. 3 poems and 3 short stories per Key Stage per school). 

Download full guidelines for Senior category entries
School Children raising their hands Young girl wearing glasses reading a book outdoors Small child with hello kitty face-paint watching something intently

Prizes 

Every child that is shortlisted by their school will receive a certificate. 

Winning and highly commended stories and poems will be published in the Wimbledon BookFests Anthology of Stories and Poems. 

All winners/runner ups plus two guests will be invited to a prize giving event where they will receive a goody bag of books and a copy of the Wimbledon BookFests Anthology their work has been published in. 

One lucky overall competition winner (from either the Junior or Senior category) will win an iPad. 

All state schools that enter the competition and have their children’s work printed in the anthology will receive 2 free copies for their library. 

How To Enter

All entries must be use Wimbledon BookFest’s Entry Form Template, which you can download below.

Entries can only be submitted by teachers/schools once they have screened all their entries internally. Unfortunately we cannot accept independent entries.

They MUST be typewritten and in WORD format (no PDFs/pictures please).  

Closing date: 5pm, Friday 3 May 2024

Email your completed forms to: Laura Byrne, School Manager at [email protected]

Download Template

Themes

2024… The Game

This year we are inspired by the 2024 Olympics that are going to be held in Paris, and our theme is The Game. 

We are asking entrants to use their idea of a game as a starting point for their story or poem. Games are so important to us all, but everyone’s idea of games are different! 

  • You could think about the games you love to play – are they video games, board-games or sports?
  • Is this a game you play with your friends, your family or by yourself? How do you feel when you are winning? 
  • Do you have to be quick, clever, strong or is it all down to luck?
  • Perhaps, the game could be one you make up yourself- who would play it and what are the rules? It could be set in the past, the future or a different world entirely.  

The winning entries will be published in the Wimbledon BookFest 2024 Anthology of Stories and Poems.

Closing date: 5pm, Friday 3 May 2024

Previous Themes

2022…Tree

The tree is a timeless symbol, yet it can mean countless things, just as the huge variety of works in this collection demonstrate. These young writers carry on a tradition begun millennia ago, finding meaning in the recognisable foliage of the tree.

Read 2022’s winning stories and poetry from the senior category Read 2022’s winning stories and poetry from the junior category
Young school children reading books Book Cover of The Tree, A collection of short stories and poems by Senior Young Writers Competition 2022