Children's Writing Competitions

Children's writing competitions, including poetry, tend to come in below the radar, so to speak, but WritersReign will endeavour to post them as and when we find them.

The Elmet Trust - Young People's Prize
Closing date: 25th July 2014.
Prizes:  First prize in each category - £100, Runners up - £50
Entry fee: Free.
Judges:  Katrina Naomi
For further information please visit the website: theelmettrust.org/competitions

The Elmet Trust - The Elmet Poetry Prize
Closing date: 25th July 2014.
Prizes: First Prize - an Arvon course at Lumb Bank, Second prize - Weekend retreat at Ted's House, Mythrolmroyd, Third prize - £50
Entry fee: £5 per person
Judges: Lucy Burnett
For further information please visit the website: theelmettrust.org/competitions

John Betjeman Poetry Competition for Young People
Closing date: 31st July, 2014.
Prizes: £1,000, shared by the poet and his or her school, four tickets from St Pancras to Paris, Brussels or Lille for each of the top three entrants.
Free entry.
Poems on the theme of 'place' by poets aged 10-13 on 31st July.
Visit website for more: betjemanpoetrycompetition.com

Foyle Young Poets Award
For age range: 11-17 year olds.
Closing date: 31st July, 2014.
Theme: FYP is about what you want to write. So you can enter poems written in class, or poems you've written at home, from exercises or from your own imaginings.
Individuals may enter more than one poem, however we strongly advise that you concentrate on drafting and redrafting your poem(s) and send only a small selection (we suggest no more than 4-6 absolute maximum) of your very best.
Prizes: The top 15 winners are invited on a week-long writing residential course at the Hurst Arvon Centre, Shropshire, or receive one-to-one mentoring with a professional poet (age dependent), and have their poem printed in the Foyle Winners anthology, which is sent out to over 20,000 people across the UK. So what are you waiting for? Start writing, and take the chance, it could be a career-defining decision!
Entry fee: Free.
Visit website for more: poetrysociety.org.uk/content/competitions/

PoeticPower.com Poetry Contest
Closing date: Summer: 19th August, 2014; Fall:  December 5, 2014
Prizes: For each contest deadline, the top ten entries in each grade division (K-3; 4-6; 7-9; 10-12 for poetry) will receive a $25 check, special recognition in the book, and a free copy of the anthology that is created from the contest.
Entry fee: None stated.
Poetic Power sponsors three poetry contests per year. Judging is divided into four divisions by age.
Further details: poeticpower.com/poetry.php 

International Children's Stories Competition 2014
Closing date: 31st August, 2014.
Prizes: The two winning stories in the 1-3 years and 4-6 years category will be published as illustrated children's books by Clavis publishing inc.
Entry fee: Free to enter.
The theme of this year's competition is 'Grandpa, grandma and I living in our multicultural society'. You can participate in the 1-3 years category (600 words maximum) and the 4-6 years category (900 words maximum). You can submit your stories online on our website. Here you will also find a better description of the theme and competition guidelines.
Website: inclusiveworks.eu/  and facebook: facebook.com/ICSC2014 

Roald Dahl Phizz Whizzing Words Competition
Closing date: 26th September 2014.
"To make this special day we are inviting you to create your very own short story or poem inspired by Roald Dahl. Selected writers will have their work published and also be in with a chance of winning a golden ticket to The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre for 2 adults and up to 3 children!"
Prizes: See above
Entry fee: Non stated.
NOTE: Competition open to UK residents only.
https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/phizz-whizzing-words.php

New Children's Author Prize 2015
Closing date: 30th September 2014.
Prizes: First prize: A publishing contract with Bloomsbury, which includes an advance of £5,000 and a print run of your work; use of  “Winner of the New Children's Author Prize 2015 from Bloomsbury and National Literacy Trust”; a prize ceremony in your honour, with press, authors and publishers in attendance. Shortlisted authors: Use of “Runner up in the New Children's Author Prize 2015 from Bloomsbury and National Literacy Trust”; signed book bundles; plus all shortlisted authors will be invited to attend the prize ceremony with the opportunity to meet agents, editors, press and others.
Entry fee: £30. Additional entries by the same person are £15. You will be given a code for this discount once you have made payment for your first entry. All proceeds go to the National Literacy Trust.
All entries must be submitted by email, using the official template. A link for this template will be emailed to you once you have paid your entry fee. Entrants must be aged 18+, a UK resident and must be previously unpublished. Entrants must submit a 20-40,000 word children’s story, targeted at children aged 8 to 12, with a 350 word synopsis and a 1,000 word passage highlighted for judging in the early rounds, as per the format of the template.
For full details and conditiond of entry, see website.
Website: literacytrust.org.uk/authorprize

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