Usborne Young Writers' Award

This summer, we're inviting all young
writers to enter the biggest Usborne
competition ever...

The Usborne Young Writers' Award!

Every child up to the age of 15 has the chance to show off their superb story writing skills and win fabulous Usborne prizes, for themselves and for their school. Read on to find out more.

Usborne fiction

What is the Usborne Young Writers' Award?

To celebrate five years of Usborne Fabulous Fiction, we're offering young writers the opportunity to write a story with a real author and win sensational Usborne prizes.

It's the ideal classroom project for you to grow enthusiastic writers during the summer term and for parents and families to support writing at home during the long summer holiday. Click on the links below to find out more...

How the competition works

What are the prizes?

How to get involved

How to enter

How the competition works

Five bestselling Usborne authors have each written the opening paragraph of a story - a taster of each is shown below.

All young writers have to do is to finish them!

What are the prizes?

A trip to Usborne House in London to meet all five authors and find out how an Usborne book is made.
£100 worth of Usborne books
A year's free subscription to www.readingzone.com.
A year's free subscription to Young Writer Magazine.
An Usborne school event with one of the five authors who started a story.

How to get involved

Download all 5 story starters, ready to invite every young writer you know to take part.

Take a look at our useful notes, which include everything teachers and parents need to make the most of the competition during class time, as well as the long summer holiday:

Introduction to the competition
Curriculum context
Getting started
Activity ideas
Resources

Each author has given expert writing tips to help inspire pupils to create an exciting, prize-winning story - click here to read them.

Then all children have got to do is get writing!

How to enter

Children simply need to finish the story starters.
Each entry should be no more than 1000 words, excluding the story starter.
Entrants must include their name/date of birth/postal address/contact email address/telephone number/class/year group/school name and school address.
Please state on each entry the name of the author whose story is being finished.
The closing date for entries is Friday 23rd October 2009.
Please note: The competition is open to children in the UK only.

Click here for full competition terms and conditions.

Please send entries to:

The Usborne Young Writers' Award, Usborne Books for Schools,
Unit 8 Oasis Park, Stanton Harcourt Road, Eynsham, Oxon OX29 4TU.

Or email stories to UYWA@usbornebooksforschools.co.uk.

Make sending in entries easier by using our downloadable entry form - simply fill in and include the form with an individual entry, or with entries for a whole class.

Usborne author story starters

Malcolm Rose

"It all started on the 5th May, 2005. I was ten years old and the storm spoiled my birthday party. I remember the wind was incredible... The first murder happened exactly one year later." Read more

Click here for Malcolm Rose's story writing tips.

Malcolm Rose's book Kiss of Death was selected for Booked Up in 2008. His other books include Forbidden Island and The Tortured Wood.

Sue Mongredien

"Lily stopped dead when she first saw it. She’d been pounding through the wood, hunting for a hiding place, when suddenly the trees thinned out, and there it was: an old stone house..." Read more

Click here for Sue Mongredien's story writing tips.

Sue Mongredien's books include The Secret Mermaid and the hilarious and popular Oliver Moon, Junior Wizard.

Leila Rasheed

"Have you ever heard the story of the boy who climbed a tree and didn’t come down? It happened five years ago, at our school. No-one knows why he went up there in the first place." Read more

Click here for Leila Rasheed's story writing tips.

Leila Rasheed is the author of the delightful diaries of Bathsheba Clarice de Trop: Chips, Beans and Limousines and Socks, Shocks and Secrets.

Graham Marks

"This little piggy sat right at the front. This little piggy is not one of us. So what’s going to happen to this little piggy on the way home?" Read more

Click here for Graham Mark's story writing tips.

See Graham Mark's brilliantly imagined story Kaï-ro, and his action-packed adventure Snatched!

Ann Bryant

“Removal van!” announced Dad, peering out of the front window. “Shush!” Mum interrupted. “The Jacksons said they’d sold the house to a really nice person.” But that was a week ago and we still haven’t seen her. Read more

Click here for Ann Bryant's story writing tips.

Ann Bryant's books include the popular School Friends series and Ballerina Dreams.

Contact me today to find out how I can help you grow writers.

Usborne Young Writers' Award supporters

BBC Newsreader Emily Maitlis

"There are few better feelings in the world than being immersed in a fantastic book - story telling is such an amazing art and one I appreciate more and more the older I get.

I am delighted if this award encourages children to have a go themselves - for the sheer pleasure it will bring, and for the discovery, perhaps, of hidden talents.

I can't wait to read the pieces myself and wish the participants courage and inspiration."

Usborne would like to thank Emily and all the official supporters of the Young Writers' Award: