kids’ writing competitions

Autumn 2013 writing comp for kids

February 25, 2013March 17, 2013 Alphabet Soup

WIN A $20 BOOK VOUCHER!

Entries close ~~12 April 2013~~ 1 May 2013 (deadline extended)

Write a story about your mum’s secret superpower. It might be an imaginary superpower, like flying. Perhaps her secret superpower is that she can grow the biggest tomatoes, can kick a football further than anyone in the world or always knows the time without looking at a clock. What’s YOUR mum’s secret superpower? Word limit: 500 words. (It’s OK if your story is shorter than this but don’t go over the word limit!)

Download an entry form from the magazine’s website (and you can read the terms and conditions there, too).

[update: Please note that this competition is still running, even though the print magazine has closed]

competitions

Writing comp (WA)

July 19, 2012 Alphabet Soup

Warm up those typing fingers—here’s a competition for 8 to 12 year olds in WA.

720 ABC Perth are calling for entries of short stories of no more than 500 words with the trigger of RADIO. Radio must be incorporated somewhere in all stories—whether it is a major part of the story, or it is literally mentioned in the story, it must be featured in some way.

And there are some amazing prizes!

MAJOR PRIZE: Return flights and accommodation to Melbourne (ex-Perth) for the winner and a parent or guardian (includes transfers and meals), $50 spending money, a day of tours at Scienceworks, the National Sports Museum and Melbourne Zoo, special guest representing WA as the Young Reading Champion at the National Reading Hour in Federation Square.

2nd PRIZE: Your height in books!

3rd PRIZE: ABC Shop Gift Voucher

The competition closes on 5 August 2012.

Check out the 720 website for more details and info on how to enter.

competitions

Autumn 2012 writing comp winners

May 14, 2012May 13, 2012 Alphabet Soup

We received heaps of fabulous entries for our autumn writing competition! We asked you to imagine a fairytale or folktale had been written as a newspaper article and you had to send us the perfect headline for that article. Congratulations to our winners—here they are:

Under 7s winner: L Sargasso (VIC)

Servant Girl Marries Handsome Prince

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Under 9s winner: J Riordan (WA)

Emperor Exposed in Fashion Disaster

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Under 12s winner: F Langer (WA)

Unexpected Guests at Grandma’s House!

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The winner in each category won a $20 book voucher. Happy reading! (PS—details of our next writing competition will be up on Alphabet Soup’s website soon … )

competitions, info

Our spring 2011 writing comp

August 30, 2011 Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup will be turning THREE in October. Hip hip hooray! So, we’ve decided to have a three-themed writing competition for our spring issue.

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WIN A $20 BOOK VOUCHER (& see your story here on the blog)

Entries close 21 October 2011

Write your own tale about The Three Little______ (choose your own characters). Your story should be no longer than 450 words and shorter is fine.

Include a competition entry form. This may be printed from the website (see competition rules), photocopied, or contact us to have one emailed or posted to you.

Your entry can be handwritten or typed. Make sure you read the competition rules!

AND

Don’t forget our Design-a-cover competition closes on 16 September 2011. The winning entry will be used for the cover of our summer issue. Check out our designing tips here.

competitions, teachers' resources

Kids Writing comp (NSW): Stuck at Home in my PJs

July 28, 2011 Alphabet Soup

Closing date: 19 August 2011.

Here’s a competition open to NSW students aged 12 and under. Write a story called ‘STUCK AT HOME IN MY PJs’.

Prizes include having your story published on the Asthma Foundation NSW website, a signed book by Libby Gleeson, and being invited to read your story at a morning tea where you will meet Libby Gleeson and also hear her read from one of her books. (There are also prizes for school groups.)

Closing date: 19 August 2011.

For competition entry details, visit the Asthma Foundation NSW website. Good luck!

competitions, teachers' resources

Kids’ writing comps 2011

April 24, 2011April 24, 2011 Alphabet Soup

A good way to hone your writing skills is to enter a writing competition. You won’t always win, of course, but it’s a good way to get motivated, get ideas and get writing!

Keep an eye on the closing dates, and remember to read the guidelines. Judges hate it when they read a fabulous story or poem and they can’t award it a prize because it was longer than the word limit, or didn’t stick to a rule listed on the entry form.

Here are some upcoming competitions for kids.

Australia-wide:

Alphabet Soup‘s autumn 2011 short-story comp (Closes 29 April. Entries postmarked 29 April accepted)

Dorothy Mackellar Poetry Awards (Closes 30 June 2011)

Sally Odgers Aussie Schools Writing Contest (Closes 30 June 2011)

WA:

The Tim Winton Award for Young Writers (Closes 22 May 2011)

Make Your Own Story Book Competition (Closes 3 June 2011)

Randolph Stow Young Writers Awards 2011 (Only open to Geraldton area. Closes 8 July)

Write a Book In a Day (Teams must complete the challenge by 31 August 2011)

SA:

SA English Teachers Association—The Young Writers Award 2011 (Closes 31 May 2011)