Children’s e-book publisher launches writing competition

Children aged 5-11 have been invited by children’s e-book publisher, Fiction Express for Schools to enter a short story competition in celebration of the company’s fourth birthday.   The competition, launched on 1^st May in association with Primary Times, will run until 7^th June. The children are required to write a short story, no longer than 500 words, that ends with a dramatic cliffhanger. In Fiction Express style, they must then offer exciting voting choices allowing the reader to decide where the plot goes next. The winning short story will be published online and thousands of schoolchildren around the world will vote to decide how the story ends, both through the Fiction Express website and via the Twitter hashtag #finishmystory. The winner will then work with a professional Fiction Express author to write the exciting story ending the readers have chosen.
1^st PRIZE –  The winner’s story will be published by Fiction Express and Primary Times. The winner will also receive a school author visit, and get the chance to work with a professional author to write the ending of his/her story. He/she will receive an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 3G, a trophy marking his/her achievement, plus an 18-book subscription to Fiction Express for Schools

2^nd PRIZE –  A £50 Waterstones voucher and framed certificate of achievement

3^rd PRIZE –  A £25 Waterstones voucher and framed certificate of achievement

7 FINALISTS –  A £10 Waterstones voucher

To celebrate the successful story, an exciting event will be held at the winner’s school. The prizes will be presented by the judges. A professional author will then run a short session explaining what it is like to be an author and offering advice to all budding young writers. The author will work with the winner and his or her classmates, to write the exciting chosen ending of the story.   The complete story will then be published on the Fiction Express website and in select Primary Times magazines.

Paul Humphrey from Fiction Express said, “This competition has been launched to encourage children to take an active interest in the creative process of writing and storytelling. Helping to embed a genuine, lasting passion and enthusiasm for reading, writing and storytelling is at the heart of what we believe in at Fiction Express. We hope to be able to nurture those budding writers and help them flourish. Who knows, the next J.K Rowling could be in our midst!”