Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) & Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust (YTCST) have announced a short story writing competition for aspiring South Somerset wordsmiths aged 9 to 11.
The competition is open to pupils in year 5 and 6 attending a South Somerset primary school or living in the South Somerset area. They are encouraged to write a short story of up to 500 words on the theme of ‘Discovery’. It can be any genre, but must be original and unpublished work by the young person. The competition is free to enter.
The stories will be read by a panel which will judge each entry on originality, plot, characterisation, use of language and enjoyment.
The winning youngsters will receive either £30 or £15 in book tokens, while their school will receive £250 in book tokens and an additional prize donated by the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust. We’re delighted to announce that Hazel Prior, number one bestselling author of ‘Away with the Penguins’, will be presenting the prizes at a ceremony in the spring.
Competition organiser Siobhan Casson said “This competition aims to encourage young people to write independent, imaginative work. ‘Discovery’ is a broad theme designed to lend itself to many possible imaginative responses. The discovery could be an object, a truth, a secret, a new land, a species, a friend, a technology, a way of living… The possibilities are endless! We can’t wait to see what creative stories the young people of South Somerset can come up with.”
Entries to the YCAA and YTCST children’s writing competition must be received by Friday 4th March 2022, either by post or email. Each story must be accompanied by a form completed by a parent/guardian or the relevant school. Forms and further details are available from our Competitions page. Winners will be announced at the end of April and the prize presentation will take place early in May.