Entries open Monday 18 March 2024 and close Friday 26 July 2024
The competition will be open to students from 8 to 18 years old who live in Cumberland, attend a school in Cumberland, or who are members of the Library Service. The competition provides opportunities for young writers and illustrators to showcase their talents.
Age group categories
The competition will be judged and awarded in the following age group categories:
- 8 to 11 years old
- 12 to 14 years old
- 15 to 18 years old
Writing Workshops
To assist young writers, Cumberland City Council Libraries will be working with bestselling children’s author Oliver Phommavanh to run workshops for students who are interested in learning to write.
The workshops will be held at Granville Library, 1 Memorial Drive, Granville and bookings are essential.
Bookings
Follow the links below to book into a workshop filtered by competition age group category.
- Workshop for 8 to 11 years on Wednesday 10 July - Book for 8 to 11 years
- Workshop for 12 to 14 years on Wednesday 10 July - Book for 12 to 14 years
- Workshop for 15 to 18 years Thursday 11 July - Book for 15 to 18 years
Entry details
Entries are judged on originality, creativity, construction, and use of language.
An independent panel will be assembled that will judge the works. Four finalists are chosen in each age group.
Works could be:
- Short stories (maximum 500 words)
- Poetry (maximum 30 lines)
- Graphic short story (maximum 10 pages)
All entries will complete a work using the images provided for their corresponding age group.
Entrants can utilise as many of the images as they desire.
8 to 11 years age group
12 to 14 years age group
15 to 18 years age group
Awards
Awards will be presented to one (1) winner, one (1) runner-up and two (2) highly commended in each age group and type of work.
Finalists from each category will have their works published in a book that will be added to the library collection and made available on Council’s website. Full names of finalists will be published and may be made available online and to the public. All participants will be given a participation award for recognition of the work
How to enter
Please read the Conditions of Entry before submitting your entry.
Submit the Entry Form (PDF, 2.5MB) with your story, poem or graphic short story.
Entries close Friday 26 July 2024