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Ireland's No. 1 FREE magazines for parents & teachers of primary school children
Children across the UK and Ireland are today invited to enter a new short story writing competition – “The National Book Tokens & Puffin Big Dreamers Writing Competition” – created by National Book Tokens and Puffin, who celebrate their 80th birthday this year. The competition will be judged by an exciting line-up of six Puffin authors including Robin Stevens, Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Carrie Hope Fletcher, with thousands of pounds worth of National Book Tokens up for grabs.
To take part, children aged 6 to 18 are invited to write a 300-word short story on the subject of “Big Dreams”. They can interpret the theme however they like; an epic fantasy inspired by a dream, their favourite book, an amazing adventure that takes place in another world, or a true-to-life story set in an imaginary school. Stories will be judged by six Puffin and Penguin authors including Nathan Bryon (Look Up!), Sam Copeland (Charlie Changes into a Chicken), Robin Stevens (the Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries), Yassmin Abdel-Magied (You Must Be Layla), Carrie Hope Fletcher (Into the Spotlight) and Emma Smith-Barton (The Million Pieces of Neena Gill). The competition is open to children in three age categories (ages 6-10, 11-14, and 15-18) and welcomes entries from residents in the UK and Ireland.
National Book Tokens is offering a cumulative prize fund of £3,600, with each of the three categories receiving a grand prize of a £200 National Book Token, with two runners up receiving £100 in National Book Tokens and 16 receiving a £50 National Book Token.
The deadline for entries is Thursday 28th May and winners will be announced on Sunday 14th June via Facebook Live during the final day of the Puffin Festival of Big Dreams, and the winning stories will be published on the National Book Tokens website. The seven-day online festival launching 8th June celebrates 80 years of Puffin and will be hosted on Puffin’s YouTube and Facebook Live channels. The festival will feature an all-star line up of authors, illustrators, and special guests who will be running writing masterclasses, draw-alongs and setting creative challenges to keep children's imaginations dreaming long after screen-time is over.
