At Storytale Festival, we’ve aimed to encourage creativity from the very beginning, with inspiring and interactive sessions featuring a whole host of talented authors, illustrators and storytellers.
Storytale 2020 is no different, and our digital events focus on enabling children and teens to have fun writing, drawing and letting their imaginations run wild! And so this year, we want to hear from you!
We have three fabulous creative writing competitions running throughout the festival.
What do you need to do?
Using the writing tips and themes from the event of your choice, write your own story based on the age group guidelines below and enter it into our competition. So, which event did you love the most? Which one has left you inspired to write your own story? We’d love to read it.
Download your entry forms below.
For 8 years and under
>>> Download your Under 8’s entry form here.
With so many sessions for younger children, which one will inspire you the most? Magical storytelling and wand making in Wanda’s Words Got Stuck? The Scottish folktale in Tell Me a Tale? Learning about under-the-sea creatures in Uh-Oh! Said Flo? An inspiring journey in The Girl Who Walked to the Moon? Or one of the many other events suitable for eight year olds and under?
Keep your story to just one page and email it to comp@storytalefestival.com. If you prefer to draw a picture based on the session that inspired you the most, then please print off the form and get drawing! You’ll need an adult to take a photo of the finished drawing and email it to us.
Bristol-based author/illustrator Lucy Freegard will be judging the submissions and choosing the winner. The prize is a copy of Lucy’s picture book, The Big Stink, plus a Chameleon Template Pack from Colourful Minds.
For 9-12 year olds
>>> Download your 9-12 years entry form here.
We have a lot going on for middle grade readers from a romp-about stomp-about with author Sophie Kirtley in Wild Things!, to Background Noise with poet Malaika Kegode, and Start Your Own Adventure Story with Katharine Orton, plus lots more to get your creative juices bubbling away!
Please keep your story to under 500 words and email it to comp@storytalefestival.com.
We’re thrilled to have Nicola Skinner, author of Storm and Bloom, judging the entries and choosing the winner. The prize is a beautiful hardback copy of Storm.
For Teens
>>> Download your Teen entry form here.
Fancy getting your story in front of Bristol Teen Book Award founder Roz Keir? Roz will be judging the entries for our teen competition. Will you be sparked into writing something spooky after watching Gabriel Dylan’s Halloween Scare? Or will you be inspired by Kate Mallinder’s live chat about Feel-good Fiction for Teens? Or perhaps one of the many other exciting events? The choice is yours.
Please keep your story to under 750 words and email it to comp@storytalefestival.com.
Gabriel Dylan’s YA horror, Whiteout, and Kate Mallinder’s feel-good YA story, Asking for a Friend, are up for grabs for the winner.
Competition Info
- You can Download the entry forms here: 8 years and under, 9-12 years and Teens.
- The deadline for submissions in all age categories is Saturday 7th November 2020 for under 8’s and 9-12’s. And Saturday 14th November for Teens.
- Please email the submission form to comp@storytalefestival.com with the subject ‘Storytale 2020 Competition’.
- One winner from each category will be chosen and the three winning stories (or a picture in the under 8 category) will be published on our Storytale Festival blog.
- The competition is free to enter.
- The competition entries will be judged on creativity. Many of the events are filled with tips about writing and story starting points, so think about those when you’re writing your story. We want to see how the events have inspired you – there is no right or wrong, it’s your chance to have fun!
